Deception
by Penwalla
Summary: AU. Four senshi cannot unite due to infighting. The Dark Kingdom has come under the control of a new evil. And two seemingly normal students begin to awaken, unaware that they are the cause of all the conflict...and that they are ones meant to stop it...
1. Chapter 1

_Deception_

Once upon a time, there was a kingdom on the moon. This kingdom was bathed in a silvery light and seemed to have the protection of some benevolent deity, for it was peaceful and full of gaiety. The merchants traded freely, the people were prosperous, and the rulers of this utopia were the very picture of good.

There was a princess on the moon, and she was a cheerful and curious girl-child, until one day, she came with her mother to a diplomatic meeting. This was an important meeting, for it was the only time the inhabitants of Earth ever saw those of the moon. Fearful of the strange powers they held, the people of Earth had passed a law to keep the ones of the moon far away.

On that day, the princess of the moon met the prince of Earth, and for a brief time, it seemed as though the tension between the two nations would finally be healed.

But a single seed of jealousy formed in a heart, and it set fire to the world.

Saturn dropped her Silence Glaive, and their forbidden love fell to destruction.

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The three little children were particularly naughty that day. Having trapped the cat in the corner, they proceeded, rather than let it escape or merely examine it, to bandage over the crescent spot on its forehead. It may have been that they thought it was some sort of wound; it may have been the warm spring air led them to be restless; it may have been that they thought black cats were evil.

At any rate, having thoroughly tormented the cat, they let it go. It scampered away, scaling a car than leaping onto a long awning to get to a safe roof. The cat stayed there hissing with rage and trying to get the bandaging off its head; however, it was futile.

Luna perched herself on the edge of the roof and sighed inwardly. How would she ever find a Senshi now?

Somewhere else in the city, a blonde girl skipped along to school, congratulating herself on finding a shortcut and on getting up early. Her foot caught in a crack in the street, and she tumbled into a boy's arms.

As they immediately began fighting, Luna had no way of knowing that destiny had just changed course.

Forever.

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Usagi gulped down her lunch as she listened to Umino's gossip. The boy was a downright genius, but his tendency towards ferreting out information on everyone and then telling it to people made it hard to believe. Umino was the boy who climbed a tree, took pictures that a newspaper would kill to have, and showed to Naru in an effort to impress her. Despite this, he tried not to do harm with his knowledge.

Currently, he was expounding on how a school in another city had been attacked by some monster. The monster had left four students dead and several injured and in the hospital. The school had been burned down in some places and simply crumbled in others.

"They say the monster was ten feet tall and it had fangs." Umino continued. Naru and Usagi listened with a mixture of revulsion and fascination. Finally, Naru clamped her hand over his mouth.

Ignoring his blush, she complained, "Can't we change the subject? You're making me nervous! I can't focus if I thinking about monsters and stuff like that!"

"Totally! I've already got those English tests to worry abut, Umino, don't add to it, please?" Usagi asked as sweetly as possible. Umino nodded, Naru's hand still over his mouth. She removed it, and he immediately began discussing their teacher's newest boyfriend. Now that was more like it, Usagi thought, and went on eating happily.

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Jadeite made his way through the crowds, looking for a suitable place to set his youma off. Granted, he'd gotten some energy from that school, but their sources told them that the Imperial Silver Crystal was somewhere in this city. Unfortunately, beyond that, there was no locating it with old legends; they needed to get close enough to sense it, and until someone used it, the crystal would give off very little energy. As long as it was dormant, all they could was cause a ruckus and suck away energy.

He allowed himself a smile as he thought of Beryl's corpse, of Metallia screaming and railing against her bonds. Just because the Shitennou had worked for her once did not mean they would do so again. No, this time, they would find their Prince, rescue him from the moon witch, and begin the rightful reign of the Golden Kingdom.

As he continued down a quieter side street, a smug look on his face, he heard a high-pitched sound. There was an alley away to his right, and when he looked down it, he saw a couple of students, talking. Or rather, screaming.

There was a blonde girl with long pigtails and round things on either side of her head, and a boy-almost a man- with dark hair. The air around was practically sparking from the force of their anger.

"How dare you call me stupid, you jerk!"

"Don't put words in my mouth, Odango atama, I merely suggested you try studying!"

"I study plenty!"

"This thirty percent says otherwise, and maybe if you studied you'd know that throwing paper on the streets is littering!"

"What are you, the Clean Police? You didn't have to make fun!"

"You could have looked where you were throwing your test, Odango!"

"Usagi! I'm Usagi! U-sa-gi Tsu-ki-no!"

"O-dan-go a-ta-ma!"

"Oh, you moron! I hope…I hope…I hope something bad happens to you!"

"What could be worse than meeting you twice in one day?"

"Why…you…" The blonde girl was so pink in the face Jadeite was surprised she hadn't exploded from the strain. Her foe was much calmer looking, but his fist was clenched so tightly that it was trembling slightly.

Something about the two was familiar, but the general couldn't remember anything important. His memories of the time before his reincarnation were weak; none of the generals had been able to truly reclaim their past selves. However, this alley was deserted except for these two; he could plant a youma here, kill these two, and spring the youma on the crowd that was sure to gather around the dead. These humans were morbid that way.

Energy wrapped around his hand, and he pressed himself against the wall, keeping himself hidden. His hand pulsed, and he fired the dark energy towards the arguing ones.

It stopped, an inch from their figures, as it hit a wall of golden light. The light Jadeite did recognize; it was the light of the Golden Crystal.

The Prince was near! He looked widely around for his former liege, but saw no one. Then he took a closer look at the people behind the barrier. They weren't fleeing or panicking; they had turned to face Jadeite. The boy's eyes had turned solid gold, and they glowed with the fierce energy of the Golden Crystal. The girl with him had her hands half raised; her eyes were rapidly filling with silver.

The Prince and the Princess, in one swoop? Fate was smiling on him today. He wondered if Nephrite had seen this in the stars. He moved forwards to plead, to cajole, to bring the Prince close enough to rescue him from that witch and her Imperial Silver Crystal. But they didn't give him a chance. A lance of gold light shot towards him, and when Jadeite dodged it, he was hit with a matching bolt of silver. His attackers' clothes had changed; Prince Endymion was in his armor, and the moon witch was in her white dress. The power coming off them both was amazing; Jadeite knew he had no hope if he tried to fight. But he knew who they were now; and they obviously didn't remember themselves.

He fled.

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"Ugh." Usagi opened her eyes slowly. She could see tall buildings, and a slice of blue sky. Where was she? This wasn't her bed, or anywhere she knew. Afraid, she sat straight up.

She was lying on the ground in the street, where she and that jerk-whose name she didn't know and hopefully never would-had been fighting. He was there too, flat on his back. She looked at her wrist before remembering her watch had been lost weeks ago. Usagi got up and shook him.

"Hey! Wake up!" He jolted awake much faster than she had.

"What the hell?" He muttered. Then he looked at his own watch. "Five o'clock? How did we-" He looked sharply at her, but couldn't figure out why she would do this or how she'd go about it.

"We've been here for four hours? Oh, I was supposed to meet Naru at three! She'll be so mad!"

"The last thing I can remember is you trying to insult me. Then…"

"There was a bright light, and I was warm inside." Usagi murmured. She hugged herself as a dim feeling washed over her. "Something happened, but why did we faint?"

She was right. He could recall there being light, and warmth, and a good feeling. But the details were eluding him, and he hated not remembering things. He stood up, looking around for his bag, and saw it a foot or so away. As he retrieved it, he saw the girl-Usagi, her name was, but she was going to be Odango from now forward-look down at the ground.

It had gone from being a dirty, paved road to a sheet of smooth black glass. He pressed a palm to it and found it warm to the touch, which made sense-dark things absorbed heat. But there was no way that it had been like that before. City streets were made rough and were always dirty.

"It's normal over there, but here it's all pretty." Usagi said, pointing down another street. "We couldn't have done this, right?" She looked pleadingly at him. "I can't get into any more trouble. My parents are probably worried if Naru's called to ask where I am. And I failed that test, too…"

"How could we?" He sighed and straightened up. Normally he didn't run away form things, but he did not want to be involved in an investigation of why the city street had turned to glass within the pace of a few hours. At least he didn't have to account for his movements to anyone. "Come on, let's not stay here."

"It's creepy." She agreed. They hurried away, noting with relieved that the glass gave way to pavement a few meters away. As they emerged into a still bustling market, Usagi sighed with relief. The noise and crowds were familiar enough to reassure her.

"I'm going." He said abruptly. "Can you get home?"

"Yeah." She said, spotting her mother across street, a frantic expression on her face.

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Sailor V's feet dangled over the edge of the roof as she watched the passerby far below. Next to her, a white, frazzled cat butted her leg with his head.

"I'm looking, Artemis, I'm looking. I thought you said there were dark forces here."

"There were!"

"Not anymore there aren't! You know what they say…maybe they're all bite, no bark!"

"You mean that the other way around."

"Right. But there is nothing evil here." She got up and walked over to the other side of the rooftop, bored. "I think you must have read it wrong."

"You just want to go to that party."

"You just can't admit you're wrong." Sailor V declared. She jumped to another building and looked down, shocked. The street beneath her looked like it was covered in wet black ink. She leapt down, snagging a fire escape on the way, and saw that it was a sheet of black glass. "What's this?"

"Intense energies have affected this area." Artemis muttered.

"No way, Artemis. We have really got to find the others soon-the enemy is getting stronger if they can do this without us knowing!"

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Usagi had narrowly avoided parental wrath by relating an edited version of her fainting spell. Upon finding out her daughter had collapsed while on her way home and awoken four hours alter, Ikkuko had been overcome with fear and proceeded to feed and fuss over Usagi as much as possible. Usagi decided to hope no one would ever remember she'd had a test and enjoy the attention while it lasted.

She curled up in bed, her homework undone, her mind in a muddle. What had happened was too weird, she thought, but she'd just ignore it. It was probably the heat, or something.

Outside her window, the moon shone brightly for a while. Then clouds covered it, darkening the sky.

Four girls left their warm beds and set their feet on the path on fate's newest path. And Usagi slumbered on.

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"Ami? Still working at this hour?" Dr. Mizuno was used to her daughter being months ahead of the class. Seeing her actually rushing to finish something was surprising. Ami kept her head down, bent over the book her mother had assumed was a textbook.

_Water Myths of the Ages _wasn't her usual choice of reading material, but then again, she'd never had to stitch up her own wounds, either. It had hurt, and even though she had studied the theory and practiced on dummies, putting the needle through her own skin had frightened her.

She wanted to understand this. She wanted answers. Instead she had a weird pen, a bunch of magical chants, and a shaky alliance with girls whom would never otherwise have spoken to her.

The words on the page were interesting, but they couldn't solve her problem, any more than they could take away Rei's last barb about her pathetic attacks or the humiliation of being caught dozing in class.

She hadn't wanted this kind of change.

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"Hi."

"Hi." He was looking at her strangely, and really, she couldn't blame him. They'd met once. She didn't even know his name, for god's sake. This was o stupid.

But what else could she do? Pulse quickening, she stared at the ground. "Um…that thing that happened last week…do you…?"

"Yeah…?"

She gulped, and glanced around to make sure the alleyway was still deserted. Then she lifted her palms and let them fill with silvery white light.

A crescent mark on her forehead glowed beneath an awkwardly tied ribbon, and he froze, reaching out without thinking to touch it. She blushed and let the light fade.

He flicked his fingers, and a rose appeared from nowhere. "You, too?"

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Rei couldn't help but dislike the girls who crowded into her shrine. The silence as they sat around the table was awkward and heavy. She hated it even more than she hated the feeling of being Sailor Mars.

It was the silence of every moment she'd ever spent with her father: painful and full of things unsaid.

Anything was better, so Rei filled it-a barb here, a jab there, and soon the room was loud with screaming and anger. Even when they were quiet they were tense, listening to the cats lecture them with barely suppressed fury. She was fine with that.

She was good at being angry, after all-much better than she was at trying to make friends.

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The little girl was crying, and Usagi had always prided herself on being able to comfort people. Granted, she'd only ever used her newfound abilities for cuts and scrapes, but how much harder could a bone be?

And the smile on the girl's face as the pain faded was worth the dizzy spells that persisted as she staggered down the street. The people and buildings blurred together, but she made it halfway home before she finally walked into something.

The wall was hard, and rough, but the stinging on her face was barely felt as she collapsed onto the ground, a crumpled heap of blonde hair and school uniform on the pavement.

Usagi would never say it, of course, but waking up in Mamoru's arms wasn't too bad, either.

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The apartment seemed even lonelier now. Makoto found herself finding reasons to avoid the silence. She'd hoped to fill it with friends and even someone special. She'd meant to rebuild her life here, but instead she'd been forced to take up the burden of battle. She was good at fighting, of course.

But she'd never asked to have her already bad image smashed by the weirdness that came with being Sailor Jupiter. Ami could get by on smarts, Rei was too intimidating to be really bothered by school, and Minako seemed to enjoy the whole thing. But Makoto wasn't just that scary fighting girl, she was now the scary truant girl who was probably in a gang and would get you.

The girls couldn't understand. Rei had her shrine, her grandfather, her aloofness. Minako had her innate charisma and a real family. Ami-the one who'd looked like good friend material-was unwilling to make a connection, content to bury herself in books.

Makoto had nothing and no one to rely on. It was her against the world, as always. And oh, how she wished it wasn't.

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She was a weird girl, but she was much less shallow then he'd thought her to be. For one thing, she'd managed to track him down despite the fact they'd met once. For another, she'd actually tried to figure out the source of her power and been confident enough to use it. (Maybe she was his princess, but surely royalty would be more graceful. Besides, his princess was sad.)

She was still an odango atama, of course. Just like he was still 'jerk', and that was practically an endearment considering some of the other things she'd called him. He'd given her his name, of course. She'd rolled her eyes.

"Mamoru Chiba? 'Jerk' sounds better!"

She made no sense half the time, and she complained loudly, and she had odangos on her head, for goodness sake. But she wasn't a bad person, just not one he would have thought of associating with. (The fact that she might be his princess helped. The fact that she was a good four years younger didn't.)

They were in the same boat. It made sense for them to stick together.

He could always get rid of her if it didn't work out, right?

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It was strange to not be alone anymore. Minako had always flown solo as a Senshi; she'd been the famous Sailor V and enjoyed the practice at being an idol, as she planned to be as soon as she got discovered.

The other girls didn't seem to share her enthusiasm-they didn't even seem to like her. She was supposed to be the leader, and she was supposed to help them find the princess and the crystal and defeat the enemy. But they just weren't interested.

The entire mission was starting to feel pointless. What had she actually accomplished? Nothing. Yes, youma were taken down, but new ones appeared everyday. None of them had managed to recover any old memories, and even in battle they were a disjointed team. Rei cut with her words, Ami rarely even spoke, Makoto ignored everything.

Why was she even bothering?

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They traded insults at the arcade, (neither of them had ever been there at the same time before, but she made an effort to avoid detention and he started hanging around) and on the way to school (even though he had to go the long way around.)

Then she suggested that they practice together, and it made sense so he agreed. Somewhere along the way she worked him into buying her food-and then they started stopping once a week to buy cake-

And then she was late because she kept failing and he found himself offering to tutor her, even though he couldn't recall ever having the thought, the words had just come out of his mouth-

(And he kept showing up and rescuing her for some reason-he was always pulling her out of the way of youma or carrying her after she'd overused her healing and fainted and he was actually beginning to anticipate it)

And then suddenly she was everywhere, and to his horror…he liked it. It was no longer weird that she turned up around every corner; the fact that the youma attacks always coincided with their location became routine.

Her presence was rapidly becoming normal, and he was determined to fix the issue, because Mamoru Chiba did not have many friends and he certainly didn't need an odango atama in his life.

He opened his mouth to say that no, he did not want to see her report card and he was leaving before he went entirely insane, but instead he said something about how he should charge her for the tutoring and before long he was distracted by the light in her eyes (the same color as his princess's, blue and shining) and the speed of her mouth.

It was a nice mouth, not that he thought about it, ever, because she was fourteen and that was just wrong.

Mamoru looked at the girl sitting across from him, obliviously munching on her cake, and realized that he was utterly and completely doomed.

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"Looks like the Sailor Senshi have done it again." Kenji Tsukino commented over breakfast. He was the family's early bird (whether this was due to the massive amounts of coffee he consumed daily was up for debate) and was reading the paper at the table while his children rushed around getting ready and Ikkuko yelled at them.

"Hm? What'd they do?" Usagi asked as she frantically pushed her books into her bag.

"There was a youma attack in the park and they took care of it."

"Why, the little-" She stopped abruptly when her family gave her strange looks. Ah, she'd have to wait until she found Mamoru to vent about the injustice of it all. "Right, I'm off!"

"Wait, Usagi! Are you sick? You'll be on time if you leave now!" Shingo declared dramatically.

"Nope! I have to meet a friend before school!"

"Is it your boyfriend? The one who calls you Odango atama?"

"He is not my boyfriend! He's a jerk and anyways he's way too old for me!"

"Who's this boy you're talking about?" Kenji asked suspiciously, eyeing his daughter and feeling the age-old instinct of all fathers when faced with the prospect of older boys and their younger daughters. Usagi saw the look on his face, scooped up her bag, and fled out the door, running at a speed that would have made her school track team burn with envy.

As she turned the corner, she tried to stop, windmilling her arms. However, it was too late, as usual-she crashed right into him, knocking them both onto the ground.'

"Learn…to…walk." Mamoru panted. "Get off my chests, Odango, you're crushing me!"

"You're so mean." She pouted as she staggered to her feet. "Did you hear? The Sailor Senshi are taking credit for that youma attack!"

"So?"

"So they didn't even show up until the youma was dead! I need recognition!"

"You get plenty of recognition as the most annoying being on the entire planet. What else do you want?" He checked his bag for damage, and found his carefully done homework was all intact. Thank God. They started walking again towards her school, as it started before his did.

"It's not fair." She muttered. "First a jerk makes fun of me, then I faint, then I have weird powers and now I am stuck…with you." She gestured at him dramatically. "See the problem?"

"Your powers are weird?" He raised an eyebrow at her. "At least you don't accidentally teleport yourself around."

"It'd come in handy when I got detention, tough."

"You haven't had detention in six months, remember?"

"I haven't failed anything, either, but you still make fun of me! Oh, when I get my report card, and I am going to shove-"

"Or, you know, not." Mamoru moved away from her, hands raised. "Why are you so violent?"

"I am not violent! I'm a cheerful, cute girl whose company you should be honored to have! Now if you'll excuse me, jerk, I have to go to school!" She started to march away, then stopped and turned back. "You're still buying me cake after school, right?"

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"Hostages." Kunzite repeated slowly. Whether he approved of the plan was unclear, but that he hadn't immediately told Jadeite that he was being an idiot was a good sign.

"Ridiculous." Zoicite put in. "We need more energy first."

"What we need is to lure out the Prince and the moon witch." Jadeite corrected. "We know they're here, but they're barely using their abilities. Thanks to these Sailor Senshi, they've been able to avoid danger and haven't awakened."

"If we kidnap some random civilians, the Sailor Senshi will still show up. We should dispose of them first." Nephrite argued.

"The prince and princess have used their powers slightly over the last few weeks. They might have developed some abilities without realizing it." Zoicite surmised.

"Their memories must be close to the surface. A jolt is all that's needed." Jadeite explained. "If we ask for them specifically, their past selves may take over."

"So you want to address our next attack directly to Prince Endymion and Princess Serenity." Nephrite said. He spat the last two words as if they were filthy. "And the Senshi?"

"I'll find a way of occupying them." Jadeite grinned, turning and walking way from his comrades.

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**First SM fanfic, so please, if I have mangled anything, let me know. I've read the entire manga, but I've only seen a few episodes from the anime.**


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter Two_

"Excuse me, but are you open?"

Rei looked up. There was a girl standing in the doorway. She had odd hair, like there were odangos on her head, and her eyes were sharp and blue.

There was a mark on her forehead identical to the one on Artemis's head. In the girl's arms there was a black cat with the same crescent moon.

"Artemis!" The cat bounded out of the girl's arms and ran to nuzzle the white cat, and although the girls' should have been used to talking animals, they were still surprised. "Artemis, I found her!"

"Found…" Minako stood up, moving fluidly around the table and to the girl. She stared at the newcomer's forehead, at her hair, into her blue eyes. "Princess?"

"Venus." The princess smiled, and held out her hands. "I'm so glad. I've finally found you!"

What followed was a bewildering flurry of hugs. The Princess hurried around the table, embracing them all wildly, tears leaking form the corners of her eyes. Her crescent mark glowed as she smiled a wide, joyful smile that seemed to light up the room. "My Senshi!"

"The princess rescued me." Luna, the black cat, explained proudly. "She recovered her memories at a young age and has been looking for us, although she had some difficulty with the glamour that protects you all from being recognized."

"I was worried that we might never meet." The princess said mournfully. "But here you are! I saw Mars outside and I knew the rest of you must be nearby. We were inseparable…before…"

"Before?" Makoto asked softly. Artemis had mentioned their past lives, but no one could provide them with the full details. Apparently they would remember when they needed the memories. Secretly, Makoto hoped that when everyone remembered, they'd all become friends and she wouldn't be alone anymore.

"Yes, on the moon…before…she turned on us." The Princess swallowed. "My name is Tranquility. When we lived on the moon, we were happy. Peaceful, even. Until, one day I…I…I fell in love." Tranquility buried her face in her hands. "Even though it was forbidden, I slipped away to Earth and met the Prince of Earth in secret…Oh, Endymion…"

"Princess." Luna murmured, rubbing her head against the princess's knee.

"There was this woman on Earth, named Beryl. Endymion had refused to wed her, so she unlocked an ancient evil in hopes of destroying the moon and winning him. She destroyed the moon, all right. She destroyed everything…including Endymion. He died…right in my arms…and then Beryl struck me down."

"Princess Tranquility." Minako knelt before the sobbing woman, stately as a queen. "I vow, as Venus, Senshi of love, and as Minako Aino, to protect you and help you no matter what."

"And I." Makoto got up and joined Minako, moved by Tranquility's speech.

Ami and Rei hesitated. Ami, because despite everything, she still had a hard time believing in all the magic and didn't know if it was wise to pledge herself to an unknown woman, and Rei, because she was loathe to give up any more of her freedom, especially to a sobbing woman with a sad story. She didn't mean to be cruel, but she was putting everything in danger for the Senshi already.

"You two?" Artemis asked. "Join them. It's your destiny."

"Says who?" Rei asked, her temper flaring. "You? A talking cat tells me I need to give up any chance at a normal life to protect this so-called princess and find a mystical jewel, tells me I need to put myself and my family in danger for what? A past life I conveniently can't remember?"

"Mars?" Tranquility asked. "Don't be angry! You don't have to swear to anything…I don't mean to be trouble…"

"I…" Rei caught sight of the princess's face and winced. "I don't know if I can do this."

"You're free." Tranquility insisted over Luna's protests. "You've already died for me once. Be happy."

"I…died for you?" Rei repeated incredulously. "When?"

"All of you did. You died trying to defend our kingdom."

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Motoki was watching them fight again. They were an unlikely pair of friends, but he could tell that, despite themselves, they were thoroughly enjoying the bickering.

Usagi's brain-mouth filter had always been a little slow; her fits of temper were usually brief and dramatic, her grief tended to easily cured by something like ice cream, and her smiles were easy and ever-present. She'd been a regular ever since she began junior high, and he looked forward to showing her the new games and gave her discounts on her milkshakes.

Mamoru he had only known in passing. While he attended the same school, and even had lasses with him, Mamoru stuck to himself, and wasn't particularly social. Motoki had only known him by reputation and the few, short conversations they'd had before Mamoru had met Usagi. Before, Mamoru had come in once or twice a week to drink something and left immediately.

Now he came everyday for the sol purpose of antagonizing Usagi, and Motoki had made a valiant attempt at befriending him. At first he'd felt as though he should protect poor Usagi, being hounded by a heartless older student. Then Usagi had thrown her books at Mamoru's head and Motoki had realized that they were good for each other.

Now Motoki felt he could call Mamoru his friend, and he hoped that if Mamoru didn't withdraw back into himself, he would accept Motoki's advice and just ask Usagi out already and put himself out of his misery.

While Usagi waved a packet of pink paper in Mamoru's face and he tried to fend her off, the arcade doors opened and admitted a group of five girls in junior high uniforms. That in itself wasn't unusual; plenty of students came to the arcade for fun. No, what surprised him was the shortest girl, standing in the middle of the group, wearing a sad smile that looked as if it belonged on the face of someone much older.

Her hair was pulled into two buns on either side of her head, trailing down in yellow ribbons. Her eyes were blue. And her face was strikingly similar to Usagi's although the features of this new girl were a little more angular.

"There are two of you now?" Mamoru commented, looking over Usagi's head at her look-a-like. She glanced over to he booth where Mamoru and Usagi were sitting and froze mid-step, staring directly at Mamoru in shock.

"You didn't tell me you had a twin, Keiko." Minako laughed, trying to diffuse the sudden tension that filled the air. It didn't help-the air between Mamoru, Usagi, and Keiko seemed to be crackling. Slowly, Keiko approached the table. She hesitantly smiled at Usagi, who returned the expression with far more sincerity.

"How strange." Keiko murmured. "We do look alike."

"They saw everyone has a twin out there somewhere! But where did you learn to do your hair? My mother actually did mine when I was little as an accident and she thought it was cute so she left it that way…are you new in town?"

"Yes, I've just moved here. The hairstyle is a family tradition, passed down for generations." Keiko's eyes moved back to Mamoru, who was watching the exchange with a frown. He rubbed his temple, looking irritated. "I don't think we've been introduced…?"

"Mamoru Chiba." He answered. His voice was cold, and Usagi whipped around to glare at him before waving him off.

"I'm Usagi Tsukino! Mamoru is just a jerk so you should just ignore him, 'kay?"

"It's fine." Keiko said. "I have an appointment. Excuse me." She turned around and left the arcade, followed by a confused group of Senshi.

"What was that?" Rei demanded.

"Endymion." Keiko whimpered, collapsing against the nearest building. "He's Endymion!"

"Your lover from the Silver Millennium?" Makoto asked. Keiko nodded. "Then who's Usagi supposed to be?"

"I don't know." Keiko sighed. "Endymion! How can you not remember me, when we were so…" Tears trailed down her face. "My love." She broke down sobbing and fell into Minako's embrace. The girls crowded around, trying to comfort her awkwardly.

Minako looked at the princess who she had sworn to follow and vowed to herself that she would bring Endymion back to Tranquility, no matter what she had to do.

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"Ah…" Usagi lay sprawled out across his couch, her bag lying half open on the floor in a way that made his neat-freak tendencies wince in agony. "I'm sooo tired…"

He ignored her, flicking another rose towards the dartboard on the wall. It hit the bulls-eye-he'd discovered he had a natural talent for throwing sharp objects, or plants and having them hit. The rose vanished into a cloud of golden sparks, and he sat down on the end of the couch next to her stocking-clad feet.

"Mamoru…" She yawned, stretching. He tried not to notice the way her shirt slid up to reveal her stomach and picked up the nearest book. Advanced physics had never failed him yet. "Mamoru, are you going to fill it out?"

"No, Odango atama."

"Please? Everyone has done one! Then you can compare and find true love!"

"I don't believe in true love through a compatibility test." He was already half in love with his odan-with his princess. He repeated the thought several times and tried not to examine Usagi's face for the marked resemblance she bore to his dream woman for the thousandth time. He already knew she had the same face as the princess in his dreams; it did not mean she was her. That girl-Keiko?-at the arcade had looked like his princess, too, but he wasn't obsessing over her.

Actually, the instant Keiko had come in, he'd come down with the most awful headache, and it had cleared up as soon as she was out of his sight. Normally he would have dismissed it, but ever since Mamoru had realized he could make plants bloom by touching them, heal himself, and move things with his mind, he'd become increasingly suspicious of coincidences.

The sound of panicked, screaming people and the roar of a youma wafted in from the open doors of the balcony. He snapped the books shut and laid it on the table.

"Why is it always us?" Usagi complained as she followed him down the stairs, hanging onto his arm so he wouldn't outpace her.

"Shut up and come on, Odango." He replied, yanking her around the side of the building. There was something large and purple, with flailing tentacles, trying to grab people and drain them of their energy as the civilians ran away in terror. They pressed themselves up against the wall, keeping behind a dumpster.

"Watch out!" Before he could stop her, Usagi had tackled a little girl out of the way of one of the monster's tentacles. As the two rolled onto the other side of the street, the youma made another grab at them. Mamoru pinned the appendage to the street with a rose and pressed one hand to his forehead. A golden symbol glowed there.

Satisfied that the magic that kept him from being recognized or noticed was working, he blasted the youma away from Usagi as it tried to snatch her ankle. She pushed the little girl away, and as son as the child was a safe distance form her, she ripped off the ribbon and pressed a hand to the crescent moon it had covered.

A beam of silver light hit the youma, eliciting a howl of pain as half of its body evaporated. Usagi scrambled to her feet and moved to his side. People were starting to poke their heads out of windows and doors as the noise of the youma intensified, but the two knew hat the magic emanating form their forehead marks would keep them from being remember or even seen.

"Are you going to keep attacking, Odango?" Mamoru asked impatiently.

"I am, I am!" She fired back, sending out another beam of silver. This time the entire youma crumbled into nothing, leaving only a crater where it had been. The people it had managed to suck the energy form were still lying prone on the ground, too exhausted to move. Usagi immediately began rushing to help them, leaving Mamoru to follow after her and scold as he forced her to use his strength to heal.

His excuse was that he was sick of having to carry her. If told he was worried about her overexerting herself, he would deny it.

'Thanks." She said as she finished with the last of the victims. "Let's go." The sound of sirens approaching followed them as they made their way back upstairs.

Usagi flopped down onto the floor. "I'm sleepy."

"I told you.' He reminded her. She yawned, too tired to spar with him. "Come on. I'll take you home."

"'Kay." She didn't move, though, and he realized that she'd fallen asleep.

He stared at her, lying on the floor of his apartment, fast asleep. She was cute.

He groaned. He was doomed, all right.

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"I think I've figured out who that Usagi girl is." Artemis declared the next morning. He looked tired, as did Ami, whose help he'd enlisted. "She's the Silver Imperial Crystal."

"How can a girl be a jewel?" Minako asked. She scarfed a chip from the bowl sitting in the center of the table. Makoto had ceased bringing snacks and no one else seemed to care, so Rei had snatched up some stale chips and poured them into a bowl before inviting the girls in.

"The power of the Silver Crystal was the reason we were all reborn. The crystal itself also had to travel through time so that it could be used by the Moon Princess. I think that girl, Usagi, was born as a carrier for the crystal. Her resemblance to Tranquility probably is an effect of the queen's final wish."

"You think Usagi is the crystal?" Makoto raised an eyebrow. She had met Usagi when she'd arrived at her new school. Usagi had approached and immediately began praising her lunch and questioning her about her past, as though she hadn't heard or didn't care about the rumors. Makoto had first thought the blonde was crazy to not be afraid, then thought she ad started a malicious rumor and shunned her entirely. She couldn't imagine the kind, ditzy girl as the possessor of an enchanted jewel.

"We won't know until I can get some readings." Ami muttered. She was tapping away at the Mercury computer. "The crystal should be completely dormant, but there have been some odd incidents in the last few months. Minako reported that dark forces had turned one of the streets to glass. Ever since then, there have been youma that have been destroyed without our interference. No one knows how they've been killed. It's possible that Usagi has been able to use the crystal without knowing it."

"She can't have activated it on her own?" Rei questioned.

"She doesn't have the power. It takes immense concentration and skill to use an artifact like that. Judging by this girl's grades and personality, there's no way she could have done it." Luna explained. "The next time there's a youma, we have to try and see if she is nearby. If she manifests any power, we have to go after her. And be careful of Mamoru, whatever you do."

Tranquility nodded. "Endymion has not regained his memory, but he's drawn to that girl. He might have mistaken her for me."

"Shouldn't we be trying to make him regain his memories, then?" Makoto asked. "he could help us."

"Endymion will be in danger if he awakens. His Golden Crystal will attract all our enemies if it begins working. And if he is exposed to us, or to the Silver Imperial Crystal, he will remember." Tranquility said. "It's for his safety that we're staying away. I'm sure, eventually he'll know me…and then…"

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"Who are you?" Kenji Tsukino demanded as he stared at the strange man holding his daughter. Mamoru gulped.

"Mamoru Chiba."

"What are you doing to me daughter?" Kenji wasn't particularly loud. He sounded almost friendly, which left Mamoru terrified. Glancing down again at the sleeping girl who'd gotten him into this mess, he explained.

"We were studying and she fell asleep. I knew there was no way she was going to get up, so I brought her home." Kenji looked satisfied, and Mamoru allowed himself relief.

"How old are you, anyway?"

"I'm eighteen. Can I bring her in, Mr. Tsukino? She'll get cold if we have to stand out here much longer."

Defeated by Mamoru's logic, Kenji moved aside and allowed him to lay his daughter down on the sofa. Mamoru put her bag on the floor nearby and hurried out of the house before the overprotective father could try and hurt him.

On the roof of a nearby building, Jadeite watched him run to his car with a smile.

"You two will the ones to lure out my Prince."

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	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter Three_

"Mamoru, you complete idiot!" Usagi wailed as she charged up the street. Her bag swung up and hit him in the shoulder. "My dad is going to kill you!"

"Odango, who was it that fell asleep in my apartment?" He asked mildly. He had already decided that he would never, ever go near the Tsukino household again in fear of its patriarch. He saw no need to tell Usagi that.

"Mamoru, my father thinks I'm a delinquent who dates older men!" Usagi said, trying and failing to shake him by the shoulders. It was moments like this that made her lament her height, or lack thereof. "What do I do?"

"Odango, no one in their right mind would date you."

"Yeah, well…it's not like girls are swarming about you!" No sooner were the words out their mouth than did a group of older girls charge them.

"Oh, Mamoru! I didn't know you were here!"

"You know, there's a festival coming up soon…do you need a date?"

"No way! I thought we agreed it was my turn to ask!"

"You? You aren't refined enough, right, Mamoru?"

He took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. Why did these things happen to him? "Who are you people?"

"What? These girls are asking you out and you don't even know their names?" Usagi asked indignantly. She put her hands on her hips. "How cold of you!"

"How am I supposed to know their names? We've never met!" Mamoru made to walk away before he could be lectured any further, but Usagi jumped in front of him, arms held out at her sides to stop him.

"You should be more careful with a girl's delicate feelings! It's bad enough that you mistreat me-"

"You're a girl?"

Usagi's mouth dropped open. "Mamoru, you…you…you fiend!"

"First, 'mistreat', now 'fiend'? Careful or your brain might explode!"

The girls who'd attempted to ask Mamoru out looked at each other. Realizing that there was no way he was going to notice them now, they backed away and resolved to ambush some other guy. Usagi and Mamoru went on fighting.

Minako and Rei walked down the street towards their respective schools, caught up in a discussion of the situation with Usagi, and pause as they heard the screaming.

"Aren't they…?" Rei asked. The auras of the two were so odd. It was as if they were enchanted to make her believe that the pair was perfectly ordinary. She had to really concentrate to see them for what they really were: touched by power. But what kind? It was too weak to tell.

"Usagi and Mamoru." Minako murmured. "Endymion and the Silver Imperial Crystal. What do we do?"

"Why should we do anything? We're getting late, and there aren't any evil auras around."

"Because, Rei, that Mamoru is Tranquility's truest love. As the Love Goddess, I must intervene before he goes out with someone else."

"Aren't we supposed to avoid him?"

"Rei, we can't just stand back and watch Tranquility waste away, pining for his attention. Love unrequited is painful, believe me." Her thoughts flew back to her past, to a face that smiled. That smile had never been truly hers.

"I'm late! Mamoru, I hate you!" Usagi turned and ran away, having thrown a rock and Mamoru's head and missed entirely. She vanished around the corner, and Mamoru sauntered off, looking pleased at having aggravated her so thoroughly.

Minako moved to speak with him, and Rei latched onto her arm. "No, Minako, don't."

"Why not?"

"Because it's not your business, because it's stupidly dangerous, and because right now it looks like he's in love with someone else."

"But…if Usagi didn't look like Tranquility…"

"How do you know, Minako? I know that they were cozy in a past life, but that might not be true in this one, especially since he doesn't remember Tranquility. Besides, what are you going to do, tell him his past lover is waiting for him?"

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Two cats sat on the roof of a building, watching two of the Senshi eat lunch wit the princess. Ami read, Makoto chattered, Keiko listened.

"You're certain they don't remember anything?"

"Yes."

"Mercury and Mars are still reluctant, though."

"When the time comes, everything will fall into place."

"I can't wait for it." Luna whispered, starry-eyed, lost in a dream. "Crystal Tokyo…"

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"What? You're already leaving, Usagi?" Ikkuko asked. She frowned over her shoulder, her hands wrist deep in dish water. "I never see you anymore, dear."

"Got to go, Mom! I have big news so I have to tell Mamoru all about it!"

"I never did get to meet this Mamoru of yours. Do bring him over for dinner sometime, Usagi. Have fun and make sure you finish your work!"

"I know, I know, Mamoru will help me! Bye!"

Usagi left the house and jogged up to the arcade, where Mamoru was undoubtedly waiting on her with a snarky comment at the ready. She clutched her prize to her chest and grinned to herself at the news she was about to unleash upon him. He wouldn't know what had hit him!

"Don't you ever walk anywhere, Odango?"

"I have a date!" She burst out as she tumbled through the doors, waving a piece of paper in the air as she fell. She sprang back up and bounced over to where he was sitting. "This cute boy in my class asked me out! So there!"

"Was he actually looking at you when he asked you out, or was he too busy shielding his eyes in horror?"

"Mamoru…you're so mean…" She sat down on one of the stools, sighing. "Buy me some ice cream?" He rolled his eyes, but he waved Motoki over and paid grudgingly. She dug in, imparting her news to Motoki as well, and generally being as cheery as possible.

He was not jealous, Mamoru told himself as he drank his coffee and glared at his physics book. He was merely frustrated by advanced physics and its total lack of practical use in life. After all, he had once jumped form the ground to his balcony. What did physics have to say about that? It was not that he was jealous of some eighth grade kid taking Usagi somewhere alone. And possibly dragging her into a dark corner and then…he wasn't thinking about it. Gravity. He was thinking of gravity.

If only gravity worked on whatever stupidly short skirt she was sure to don for her date…apparently she thought they made her look taller…

"Earth to Mamoru." Motoki waved a hand in his face. "Just ask her out, Mamoru."

"Shut up." Mamoru snapped the book shut, realizing that gravity was not helping. "I don't want to date a pastry."

"No, you want to date Usagi."

"Odango atama is a pastry. She's got the brains of a pastry, certainly."

"Hey! You're smirking, Mamoru! I bet you're saying nasty things while I'm not around to defend myself!"

"You can defend yourself?"

Sometimes she was just too easy. Or maybe it was all the time.

"Hiro is nicer than you. He and I are going to the festival." Usagi announced. "I bet he's going to take me somewhere nice for dinner afterwards, too…somewhere…romantic…" She had a dreamy look in her eyes, as if staring at something no one else could see. "And then…"

"He'll take one look at you eating and climb out the nearest window."

"Or maybe he'll realize I'm special and unique!"

"You are special and unique, Odango." Mamoru got up and walked over to her. He leaned in. Usagi felt a blush creeping up on her face as she tried to lean back without falling over. "No one is as ridiculous as you are."

"You just wish you had a date." She fumed, pushing him away and trying to whack him with a spoon.

"I'm studying that day. I hate festivals."

"What? How can you hate festivals? It's like…like…hating the sun!" She burst out.

"Haven't you noticed Mamoru's penchant for sunglasses?" Motoki laughed from behind the counter.

"It's almost like Mamoru is a vampire…" Usagi froze. "You aren't a vampire, are you?"

"No! There's no such thing as vampires!"

"Just checking!"

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She should have been having a great time.

The festival was full of fun things. There were vendors selling delicious food and adorable trinkets. Everything was cheap. There were pretty decorations everywhere. Music was playing; prizes were being won; couples walked arm in arm and friends giggled over stalls.

And instead of enjoying it as she should have, Usagi was sitting on the ground, nursing sore knees and palms from a fall, and enduring the humiliation of having her date laugh at her. Hiro stood there, watching her wallow in self-pity, chortling as if she were a street performer.

"What's so funny?" She sniffed. "You could at least help me up!"

""That's the funniest thing you've done today, Usagi. No offense, but you're kind of boring. If you didn't always wear such short skirts I would have just asked Naru out instead."

"What? Why?"

"Well, your thighs and butt are kind of chubby, you know? I don't want a date a fat girl."

Usagi opened her mouth, tears streaming down her cheeks, prepared to launch into a tirade.

"You should be careful of a girl's delicate feelings." Mamoru said mildly as he pulled Usagi to her feet. Hiro gaped at him. "What are you doing, Odango?"

"Odango?" Hiro repeated. "Yeah, your hair really does-" Mamoru looked at him. It was a look that suggested Hiro was in fact a puny, weak, inferior creature unworthy of Mamoru's attention. It also suggested trying to get his attention would be a bad idea.

"I was on a date." Usagi stressed. "But you know what? You can buy me some cake, Mamoru." She latched onto his arm and marched off, leaving Hiro confused and irritated at being so abruptly dumped. "Call me fat, will he?"

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The stars were bright that night. The streets where the festival had gone on were deserted, a few melancholy streamers lying on the ground. Keiko stood there; looking out into the night, imagining what it would have been like if Endymion had been here with her, instead of…

She shouldn't have been surprised. Fate would draw them together time and time again. Fate would never allow them to be parted. But she had still stopped, stared, felt the white-hot pain of seeing another woman on his arm, and run away despite Minako's pleas. Now she was alone, under the moon. Her dead, cold, ruined moon.

Keiko sighed. She knew it was her duty to support the Senshi until they could find the Silver Imperial Crystal. She knew that it was necessary for her to be strong, as her mother would have been. But seeing Endymion made it so hard.

As Keiko lingered out in the dark, Jadeite stood on a rooftop, waiting. He was not disappointed: one of the balconies jutting out form the high-rise apartment complexes was occupied. Mamoru leaned on the rail, unable to sleep after a particularly potent dream about his princess.

The Dark Kingdom general smiled, and put his plan into action.

A young woman came out from the shadows, approaching Tranquility. She had a round crystal in her hand that Jadeite had gone to great pains to steal. He had wanted a truly powerful youma this time, so that the Prince and Princess would be forced to awaken in order to combat it. Certainly the four Sailor Senshi would be no match.

The crystal glowed pinkish, burning the hands of the disguised youma that grasped it. She grasped, her face twisting and melting as she tried to transform and save herself, but the crystal shone brighter and swallowed her entirely. It fell to the ground, rolling under its own power towards the building where Mamoru lived. It went by Keiko's feet.

She followed.

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Usagi woke up, sweating and terrified. She climbed out of bed and began dressing frantically, not even bothering to fix the ribbon that normally covered her forehead. She paused only to pick up the phone and dial Mamoru's number. It rang.

No one answered. Usagi threw the phone down, snatched up her shoes, and ran out into the night, following the instinct that had roused her and insisted her friend needed her.

She was not alone. Rei was sill in her nightclothes as she fought the evil aura that emanated throughout the city; Ami snuck out of her apartment without the notice of her mother; Makoto's keys fell into a drain as she rushed onwards; Minako carried both Luna and Artemis out into the night.

They came together in the street where Jadeite had sprung his trap. The youma was unusually small, with the body and face of a little boy. However, it was ringed by fire and black lightning crackled overhead; what was worse, the unconscious bodies of both Tranquility and Mamoru were at the youma's feet, inside the circle of flames.

Usagi froze, pressing her fingertips against her forehead, willing herself to become invisible. The Sailor Senshi didn't notice her as they congregated on the other side of the street, transforming rapidly into their superheroine selves in order to fight.

"Fire Soul!" Sailor Mars was the first to attack, but her fire merely strengthened the youma's protections. "Damn it!"

"Can you purify it, Mars?" Sailor Venus asked. "We have to get Tranquility away."

"Is that Mamoru down there?" Mercury asked as she used her visor to zoom in. "It is. We have to be careful not to hit them. I'll create a distraction; Venus, try and hit the youma out of the way. Jupiter can swoop in and pick them up."

They took their places. "One, two, three…Shabon Spray!"

An icy fog surrounded the youma and its prisoners. Eerie, childish laughter filled the air.

"You think your puny attacks can stop me, Magdoman? I will devour the Golden Crystal and the princess, then steal the Silver Imperial Crystal and rule the Earth!"

"Crescent Beam!" Jupiter dove, jumping over the wall of fire and seizing Tranquility's arms. Before she could get back over however, the flames surged upwards and black lightning struck her, throwing her through the fire and into a nearby building.

"No! The Princess!" Mars tried to use her spiritual powers on the youma, but they were ineffective. Magdoman laughed again, the innocent sound twisted.

Usagi let loose at that instant, a beam of silver light thicker and brighter than Venus' striking the youma. It howled in pain, and she ran forward, fairly certain she was invisible, skidding to a stop only when she reached the fire.

"The Crystal." Luna screamed from her safe position on a dumpster. "That was the Crystal!" Everyone looked around frantically for the source of the light, but their eyes slid over Usagi without seeing her. Mercury's visor found her, whoever, as did Mars' soul.

"Usagi!" Mars yelled, the other Senshi following her as they closed in. "We need to get your crystal to Tranquility!"

"I don't have a crystal!" Usagi protested, letting the magic that concealed her fall. "And Mamoru is…" She made to dive into the flames. Venus grabbed her wrist, restraining her.

"You do. It's inside you!" Venus stared intently at Usagi, trying to figure out how to get the Crystal out. There was no way, she realized, not without Tranquility's help. "Everyone! We have to combine our powers to save her. We have to perform a Sailor Planet Attack!"

"There is another way." Jadeite looked down at them from Mamoru's balcony. "I can seal Magdoman back up…from a price, of course."

"What do you want?" Usagi asked desperately. Tears were pouring down her face even as she summoned more light into her hands, preparing to blast Magdoman again.

"I want the Moon Princess and her Prince here, right now." Jadeite declared. His voice was much louder than before; it echoed throughout the entire city. Lights flickered on as people woke and came to their windows to ascertain the source of the sound. "Princess Serenity! Prince Endymion! Come out and play!"

"Serenity?" Luna said. "Who is Serenity?"

"Agh!" Magdoman was screaming a mixture of fury and pain as he was enveloped by a golden glow. Usagi screamed as well out of fear, and the Senshi tensed, ready to attack. They were prepared for Magdoman to launch an assault, but instead, its fire and lightning faded away and it began to shrivel into dust.

Tranquility stirred, lifting her head. She saw gold light spilling out everywhere, and then she remembered where she was and thrashed over onto her back. Endymion was awakening-the golden light had to be him-where was her Silver Imperial Crystal? Why was she not also wrapped in silver light?

"My Prince." Jadeite leapt smoothly from the roof downwards, striding over to the glowing figure and bowing deeply. "We are reunited at last."

"Where is Serenity?" Endymion asked. His eyes had gone from blue to gold and his clothing had reverted to the armor he'd been killed in.

"That moon witch is not here. The enchantment she placed you under has still not broken."

"I see that you are still Metallia's, Jadeite?"

"We Shitennou will serve you loyally, Prince Endymion. We have already killed Beryl and shut away Metallia."

"If you were truly free, you would realize the folly of blaming anything on Serenity."

"Mamoru?" Usagi asked timidly, hugging herself as she approached from behind the Senshi. Her courage had faltered when Jadeite had emerged and Mamoru had begun talking in an unfamiliar tone, but it had reasserted itself now that she was certain he was unhurt. "Is that you?"

"Serenity! You're alive!" Endymion rushed to her side. Usagi's eyes widened at his expression one too happy to be Mamoru's.

"I…my name is…" Usagi hesitated. Was her name really Usagi Tsukino? A voice in her head was laughing, wild with joy, as the person she had thought was Mamoru but wasn't took her hands in his. Slowly, a new light came into her eyes and something clicked. Memory rushed back into place. "Endymion!"

The two lovers reunited, embracing each other, as a bewildered team of Senshi, a stricken Tranquility, and an irate Jadeite looked on. Nothing was going the way it was supposed to. Endymion had remembered everything; there were two moon princesses; and neither of the crystals had been revealed.

"Serenity?" Tranquility asked incredulously. "My lady-in-waiting?"

"Moon witch!" Jadeite snarled. "I'll do away with you!" Later, he added mentally as he began retreating. He could see that he would have to separate the two lovers before she could be killed. He vanished in a swirl of darkness, leaving Tranquility and the Senshi to demand an explanation.

"Who are you?" Venus demanded.

"She's my lady-in-waiting." Tranquility explained as Jupiter pulled her upright. "Or was."

"Why does she have the Silver Imperial Crystal?" Mars asked.

"My name is Serenity, daughter of Queen Selenity, princess of the moon." Serenity said. "Who are you?" This was directed at Tranquility.

"Tranquility, daughter of Queen Selenity, princess of the moon." Tranquility answered haughtily. "Give me my Silver Imperial Crystal."

"But…we can't both be…" Serenity looked to Endymion. "Can we?"

"I don't recall anyone named Tranquility in your court or in mine." He replied. "As far as I know, you are the princess of the moon."

"Endymion, how can you have forgotten me, forgotten us?" Tranquility asked. "I loved you! I thought you felt the same!"

"We've never even met." Endymion protested. "If we were ever attached, I cannot remember it."

"There's one way to find out." Luna and Artemis scampered over, climbing onto the shoulders of Tranquility and Venus. "Shout, 'Moon Prism Power, Make Up!'"

"Moon Prism Power, Make Up!" Both princesses said in unison.

There was a burst of light as power swirled around Serenity, changed her into a sailor-suited Senshi not unlike the others. She blinked in surprise at herself, reaching up to remove a pair of white goggles over her face. They flashed with images of people throughout the city, obviously meant to pinpoint persons in danger.

"Hah! I read in prophecy long ago that there would come an enemy who would pose as Sailor Moon! There has never been a Senshi of the moon!" Artemis said. "Prince, get away from her, she's a fake!"

"No, that's not true!" Serenity wailed. "There are Senshi of the moon! Every star has a Senshi!"

"Girls!" Venus said. "We have to use our powers!"

"The fake princess still has the crystal!" Mercury protested. "She's too powerful!"

"Hold up your henshin sticks, girls! Say, 'Sailor Planet Sealing!'"

"Wait!" Tranquility protested. "Endymion, get out of the way or you'll forget everything!"

"Stop it! I'm on your side!" Serenity protested. She was starting to glow, as the brooch on her chest opened of its own accord. Inside was something sparkling and multifaceted. The Silver Imperial Crystal made its appearance at last.

There was a flash so bright it temporarily blinded everyone present. The power that had pervaded both Serenity and Endymion faded, leaving a weakened and confused Usagi and Mamoru. Tranquility tried tot elbow her away past the Senshi who were already forming a circle around the two at Luna's command. She was pushed back.

"Sailor Planet Attack!" Luna yelled. Mercury hesitated.

"We can't just attack civilians!' She protested. Venus grabbed Mamoru, and with Jupiter's help, shoved Mamoru out of the circle Tranquility grabbed onto him, trying to pull him away while he was still disoriented.

"Do it, girls! She'll destroy the world, your parents, your friends, yourselves, your princess! She's a monster!" Luna was screeching, more cat than human at this point, her claws extended at the helpless Usagi. Venus and Makoto were the first to take a deep breath and raise their sticks, power flowing through them. Mars thought of her temple, her grandfather, and held up her own. Mercury was the last-she didn't really want to but she had to-

"Sailor Planet Attack!"

There were twin screams, identical wails of grief and rage, as the victim of the pulsing, destructive attack hit the ground.

Blood poured out from the hideous, gaping wound, soaking into the crevices of the pavement. The attack had punched right through the victim and the ground was visible beneath them.

The screaming went on and on, the Senshi paralyzed with horror, the cats unable to find advice for the situation.

"_MAMORU!"_

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There was blood everywhere-it covered her hands, her arms, her chest and even face as she labored over him. She'd healed people before. Surely she could heal him. Surely she could save him. The power poured from her, making the blood shine oddly.

It wasn't enough. No matter how much energy she let drain into his corpse-for she could perceive that he was no longer breathing, he didn't even have lungs anymore-the wound could not close. Nothing was happening .She was going to fail, as she had always failed.

No.

More power. She needed more power and she dragged it from within herself, ignorant of everything around her-Tranquility, her tears falling into the wound; the Senshi, on their knees, lost and as helpless as she had been to stop him from throwing himself in front of her; even her own voice, which cried out in sorrow until she was hoarse and her throat was raw.

She was numb; there was only the light, which she had to save him with. It wasn't working.

_Please…please…I can't let him die…_

And then a miracle began to occur.

The light coming from her intensified. The people around her shielded their eyes. She stared unseeingly at the terrible, terrible hole in him, watching the light fill it and block it from her sight, watching it dissipate into his skin.

Sprouts began bursting from the ground around him, pushing through the road, brushing against him and adding a faint, faint gold light.

The hole began to close. The blood began to vanish. The wound began to heal.

Usagi leaned in, the light fading away now, leaving her to stare at it-clean, unbroken skin-

His chest rose, and the beautiful sound she'd ever heard reached her ears. He breathed.

And a smile gracing her face, Usagi fainted dead away.

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	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter Four_

The hospital room was cramped and full.

Usagi's still form lay on the bed, her body plugged into various machines. She wasn't moving; the only sounds in the room were the quiet crying of her mother and the steady beeping of the heart monitor.

The Tsukino family was on one side. The four Senshi, Tranquility, and the two cats were on the other. They'd left the unconscious Mamoru in his building's lobby; Tranquility and the cats had made a half-hearted plea to stay with him, but the Senshi had overruled. There was nothing to be done now; the doctors had explained as best they could Usagi's condition.

She was breathing. That was it.

They didn't know if she would wake; they couldn't find a reason for her unending sleep. The Senshi might guess, as they knew the full story behind her 'accident'.

"Ladies?" Another doctor came in. "You were the ones that found Miss Tsukino?"

"Yes." Ami was the one who finally stepped forward to speak. "We were all meeting very late for-for personal reasons. We found her lying on the ground, on the street where the festival had taken place earlier. So we called from a pay phone for the hospital and waited."

"You didn't see anything unusual?"

"The street looked like there had been some kind of accident, sir. There were parts of the road that had been ripped up."

"Possibly she was the victim of one of these youma attacks we've been having so frequently." The doctor hypothesized. "There's nothing wrong as far as we can see, except for the fact that we can't wake her up. We'll keep working."

"Is there something we can do?" Kenji asked. "Anything at all?" The doctor pitied the father. No doubt the whole family was in turmoil over the state of their child.

"Not as of yet. We'll just have to wait and see."

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"We're murderers."

Makoto leaned against the door of her apartment, wishing she had a key. In her rush, she'd lost her keys. If she had known…she would have stayed in bed, warm, safe and relatively blameless…

She had killed someone. No matter that they were now alive. She and the other Senshi had combined their powers to kill another human being. There was no excuse, Makoto thought miserably. She could say that the cats had urged her on, that Usagi would have killed them first, that Mamoru shouldn't have jumped in the way. But in the end, she had lifted the henshin stick up and done it.

The blood bothered her. Their youma enemies turned to dust. No one had ever bled because of her before…no, she had fought with her hands, her feet, but never, ever to kill…

Makoto slumped. What would her parents say if they could see her now?

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Minako was raging. She paced in her room, furiously hissing at her cat. Cat! Her sudden hatred of Artemis and Luna, of their insistence that she attack Usagi, of their entrance into her life fueled her through her exhaustion.

"This," She said, "is your fault."

"My fault?" Artemis repeated. "I understand, Mina. You are distraught. The first battle is always the hardest."

"If I had never met you, I wouldn't be here. I'd be happy. What if Usagi doesn't wake up? What if she dies because you and Luna gave us this power?"

"Mina, I know it is hard to believe, but you are doing the right thing."

She shook her head, tears leaking out of her eyes. He was wrong. She was wrong. There was nothing right about anything in this situation.

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Ami listened to her mother with great care. She focused on every word. She put all thoughts of what she had just done out of her head, making herself forget. Later. She'd worry later.

But the image of Usagi, flat on her back in the hospital, and of Mamoru, bloodied and destroyed, wouldn't leave her.

Her mother didn't know all that. Mother just assumed she'd snuck out to be a normal teen, that she was up to something stupid. Her mother would never stand for a murderer as a child, Mother was a doctor who saved people instead of killing them. Killing was wrong. It might be logical to remove one person to save a thousand.

Ami knew it was evil to do it.

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Rei was on the floor by the fire. It burned steadily; it showed her nothing and no one. The fire had forsaken her; she was no longer worthy of its gifts. Her powers had weakened in the moment of the strike, she realized; her other sense was gone.

She was no longer a weird psychic girl. Now she was a girl who had raised her hand and killed. It was far worse.

A part of her wanted to scream and cry, to wail. Her arms were bleeding from where Phobos and Deimos had pecked at her arms as she came in. It had taken a broom and a heavy door slamming to fend them off. She was unfit to stand on holy ground, after all.

She was a killer.

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The pain was excruciating. Mamoru tried in vain to move; a steady stream of information, a collage of nonsensical images and sounds flowed through his head as he lay there. His bare skin was burning.

He tried again, fruitlessly, to move. Usagi. Where was she? Was she hurt?

He knew that it would be worth the pain if he had managed to save her. So he continued to struggled until through superhuman effort, he staggered onto his knees.

Sweet relief.

The pain stopped as soon as his bare skin was no longer touching the ground. Hesitantly, he touched the wall with his fingertips; the images returned, faces and voices and lights. He moved his hand and it stopped.

He had to find Usagi, and he had to find her without touching anything with his bare skin or risk passing out again.

The idea of failure was unacceptable. He sucked in a painful breath and pushed opened the door.

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"Hey." Ami stood nervously in the door of her apartment. Her mother was out, so she had used the communicators to call everyone except Keiko and the cats over. Usagi had been in the hospital for four days, with no change in her condition. Her room was full of get-well gifts, cards, and flowers. Mamoru had become a permanent fixture there, practically living in her room despite all efforts to get him to attend classes or leave.

Normally she would have continued her policy of obsessive studying and silence, but now she knew. She felt that she owed it to her fellow sinners to share the knowledge.

"I hacked into the computer Luna gave me." She said numbly. "And I figured some things out."

"Like what?" Rei asked skeptically. Yesterday the former shrine maiden had made three girls cry. Hr tongue was sharper than ever, but it was doubled edged; every time she saw a girl cry, she also saw the screaming Usagi.

"Like exactly what they are actually planning." Ami said. "Please, come in."

The four girls went into the living room and sat as far away from each other as possible. Ami pulled out her tiny blue supercomputer and showed them what she had found.

"I managed to download and save a message from the past Luna and Artemis left for themselves." Ami explained, her fingers clicking away at the keys. "It was blurry, but from what I understood, this entire situation is being manipulated by the cats in order to insure the future existence of something called Crystal Tokyo."

"A city?" Makoto asked.

"Yes. Luna and Artemis were able to temporarily visit the future during the final battle for the Silver Millennium while trying to find the Senshi of Time, Pluto. They found a text that told some of the history and events of the time. They didn't have time to translate much before returning, but based on their knowledge, they created a plan. The idea is that by meeting certain conditions now, with the reincarnations of those of the Silver Millennium, they can make sure Crystal Tokyo is founded."

"What are these conditions?" Minako asked.

"I found an original transmission from the battle which killed our past selves." Ami paused. "The princess we were protecting was named Serenity. She committed suicide after her lover, Prince Endymion, was killed. There is no one named Tranquility in the files I could get into."

"So Luna and Artemis lied." Rei said aloud. "Why?"

"Well, one of the things they were definite about was that there was no Sailor Moon in Crystal Tokyo. However, the four Inner Senshi-that's us- were still alive and protecting the Neo Queen of Crystal Tokyo and her husband, King Endymion."

"So Sailor Moon is…?" Mina asked, remembering the Senshi of the moon they'd so briefly seen.

"Just what she sounds like. The Sailor Senshi protected by the moon. However, her powers are much stronger than ours. Sailor Moon is supposed to be invincible. The text Luna read stated explicitly that if Sailor Moon had not vanished, there would be no Crystal Tokyo. She also read that Princess Serenity was gone. That's why we were supposed to-to kill Usagi." Ami stumbled over the dreaded word.

"So they were just using us?" Rei asked, rage beginning to simmer deep down.

"In a sense. They see themselves as guardians of the future that is to come. They think they have to do horrible things now in order to create the paradise that will come later. Luna and Artemis have a certain power over memories-I suspect they created Tranquility themselves in order to hide Usagi's identity from us. They knew that the real princess would be the one with a crystal and the power to become Sailor Moon."

"We're just pawns in their game." Makoto said. "We were supposed to be helping people…protecting them…instead we became…"

"Murderers." Minako said vehemently. "No more. I'm not doing this anymore. I can't believe that everything is-was- a lie…" She swallowed. "Artemis must have suppressed my memories."

"Why do you say that?" Ami asked.

"I had these dreams of the Silver Millennium when he first found me. When I discovered others had been reincarnated, I thought maybe…but the dreams stopped. I never did get to see his face."

"Whose face?" Rei asked.

"The person I was in love with." Minako sighed. "From my past life."

There was a silence as everyone contemplated what they had just learned. Makoto felt a new kinship with the girls around her: they'd all suffered together, being used by a pair of talking cats who were willing to make them do the dirty work. She shuddered. She'd had it with being used for her strength and skills.

"We should do something." Makoto voiced her opinion. "To try and stop them."

"No, we should just get out of here while we still can." Rei argued.

"And if Usagi gets killed? Or Mamoru does? Luna and Artemis aren't going to stop." Minako said.

"Usagi is an easy target. All anyone would need to do is tamper with the intravenous feeding." Ami said. "She's the real princess. I don't know about anyone else…but I feel like I owe it to her to protect her now."

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"You have failed again, Jadeite." Kunzite said. He stared at Jadeite. "The Prince was killed."

"What?" Jadeite froze. "Endymion is dead?"

"That moon witch magicked him back to life." Nephrite explained. He paced up and down, frowned at the ceiling. The stars no longer told him things as they had once done. He was afraid now-afraid that the Shitennou would not succeed.

"We should have felt him die, but we didn't. The bonds of power that made us so formidable have faded away. Could that be the moon witch's doing?" Zoicite wondered aloud. He had searched everywhere for an answer. The link between the Shitennou and Endymion had been the reason they had betrayed Beryl upon returning; it had awakened some of their past memories. Now it was gone entirely.

"The witch." Jadeite said. "She's trying to separate us from him. The Prince actually called me a traitor when I tried to explain things to him."

"She's dying." Nephrite said. "The effort of reviving him was too much. Why?"

"Bringing someone back to life is much more energy-consuming than just healing." Zoicite offered. He tried to go in more detail, but Nephrite stopped him.

"No, why save him?" When no one produced an answer, he continued. "Before, it was about control. The moon people were always watching us. She used Endymion to gain power over our planet, thus giving Beryl the opportunity to take over. Her kingdom is gone. She's in possession of the infinite power of the Silver Imperial Crystal. Why does she even need the Prince?"

"Power." Kunzite replied. "The people of the moon desire power."

"They let us be before." Zoicite mused. "She was the first to interfere."

"So one woman wanted power. We all fell because of her." Jadeite snarled. "All of us died, all of us turned, because Princess Serenity couldn't be content with immortality, eternal peace, and watching over our planet."

"Enough." Kunzite said. "We must free the Prince. How?"

"We have to catch him without awakening him." Jadeite said. "He's still enamored with her."

"Why not take care of her first, then?" Nephrite proposed. "She is indisposed. The enchantment might break upon her death, and if not, there'll be no way to renew it."

"Zoicite, I leave this to you." Kunzite ordered. "Kill her."

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"You." Mamoru spat as the four Senshi filed into the room. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, book open in his lap. It had been open to the same page for the last four days, and was only there to fend off worried nurses.

"We're not here to hurt her." Ami raised her hands in a gesture of peace. "We just…"

"Feel guilty about effectively murdering her?" Mamoru offered. He glared.

"You cannot begin to imagine how sorry we are." Rei whispered. "We know we're in the wrong here. We know we're not wanted. But we want to try and help in whatever way you think is appropriate."

Mamoru opened his mouth to follow his first instinct-to tell them to stay as far away from Usagi as possible-and then stopped. He considered for a moment.

"The doctors don't think she's going to live much longer." He said finally. "I don't…I can't heal her." The words were bitter; Mamoru had labored over her with his powers, but he hadn't managed to do anything. They worked well enough on injuries, and himself, but Usagi was beyond his ability now. "Can one of you?"

"Can we?" Makoto asked Minako, who had been a Senshi the longest. Minako hesitated, frowning. As far as she knew, the Senshi were gifted with elemental abilities from their original planets as well as some outside gifts such as Rei's spiritual ability and Ami's intelligence. However, these were derived from the original kingdoms they had ruled.

"I don't know. We might try. Ami?" Ami had earned a great deal of respect after she had shown them her notes from her brief bout of hacking. That she had been able to break into the encryptions of a society hundreds of years ahead of their own was amazing.

"The only Sailor Senshi with the power to heal, as far as I read, is Sailor Saturn. And she only awakens at the outset of apocalypse."

"So we can't…?" Rei trailed off.

"We can lend her our strength as Senshi." Minako said.

"Yes, Sailor Moon was able to achieve her power by joining her heart's power with the rest of the Senshi according to legend. But it might not work if she's not transformed." Ami said.

"Her healing doesn't work on herself." Mamoru said. "She's tried. Usagi used to overuse it and pass out all the time. If you give her your power, you might end up killing her anyways. The fact that she survived bringing me back to life is…"

"She used the Silver Imperial Crystal." Everyone turned to the window, where Luna and Artemis were perched. Luna leapt down onto the floor and walked over to Mamoru. "She has no right to use it. Only the moon princess can."

"The moon princess." Mamoru repeated. "You mean Keiko."

"Princess Tranquility is the only one able to wield the Silver Imperial Crystal." Artemis explained.

"Then why am I alive?" Mamoru asked. "If you're right, I should be dead right now."

"Tranquility's presence activated the crystal, allowing the power to heal you." Luna explained. "Serenity is just a vessel, a decoy. In life she was the one who switched places with Tranquility in times of danger; now her body takes the strain of using the crystal for Tranquility's sake."

"The hell it does." Mamoru snarled. "Why should Usagi suffer because your precious princess can't handle doing anything?"

"It's your own fault for jumping in so recklessly!" Luna snapped back. "You brought this upon her! Her death was necessary in order to insure-"

"Who are you to decide who lives and who dies, Luna?" Rei screamed. "You are not a god, to go around changing the past to make your dream of Crystal Tokyo come true!"

"What did you say?" Artemis asked. He joined Luna on the floor, his hair standing up on end. They had figured it out. They would have to act quickly to suppress all their memories, have to plant false ones or else everything would go wrong-

Makoto snatched up the white cat, restraining him with her hands while holding him away so that he couldn't claw her. "Oh, no, you don't!"

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Keiko went to see Usagi late at night.

She'd been too much of a coward to go and see Endymion. She'd been afraid of rejection, even as she realized that they were destined to be. In a sick way, she felt that Usagi's fate was bringing them together; now that the other woman was out of the picture, Keiko could comfort him.

But Usagi had saved the life of Tranquility's love. Luna had explained to her how Usagi's position as her double had forced her to take the brunt of using the crystal's power; however, the cat had been quite clear on the point that it was Keiko's heart, not Usagi's that had activated the crystal.

Tranquility didn't believe it.

She had not felt anything of the sort as she had clung to Endymion's corpse. She had been able to do nothing but weep while Usagi had glowed brighter and brighter; it was Usagi who had turned into Sailor Moon, after all. Tranquility had no power of her own. It was definitely Usagi who had rescued Endymion from death, and Keiko was grateful to her.

So she snuck into the hospital to visit her.

The room where Usagi was supposed to be, however, was empty, so Keiko went elsewhere. She looked around the hospital, going from room to room as quietly as possible, praying no one would notice her absence. Senshi could be so overprotective sometimes.

Usagi was sleeping when Keiko found her; a reading of the chart at the foot of the bed told Tranquility that the sick girl was recovering from surgery. Apparently she'd been pronounced well enough for it in the afternoon and immediately been sent under the knife. A twinge of envy ran through her as she saw the rose lying on the bedside table. It had a note, signed 'Mamoru', tied onto the end.

A lover's token? Surely not.

"What are you doing here?" She froze and then slowly turned around, looking over her shoulder. Speak of the devil; it was Endymion himself, looking less than pleased to see her. He had a book in one hand and the other was clenched into a fist.

"I wanted to see her."

"In the middle of the night?"

"I owe her. She saved you. If you had died…" Keiko broke off, wondering if he noticed the tears welling up in her eyes. She wanted him to ask about her, to say something that would prove to the voice in her head that he still loved her. That his vigil for Usagi was motivated by gratitude and not love.

She wanted to ask him if he loved her, but she was too much of a coward for that. For so long she'd lived in the past, focused only on renewing the bonds she could remember form her past life. Her future had gone uncared for. It had never occurred to her that things like this could happen-never occurred to her that her past lover might have moved on.

"I see."

"I think we'd have gotten along quite well." She babbled. "I only met Usagi once, but she seemed like a nice person. Do you think she's the princess?"

"I don't know." Mamoru wondered what was wrong with her. He'd understood from the Senshi, who had filled him in on all they knew, that she was 'in love' with him, but he hadn't expected her to get so flustered.

"I don't think she is. Because I remember all these things…parties and games and the palace, and being with the Senshi and meeting you in secret," She blushed and went on, "And the grounds, where there were flowers, and my mother, Selenity, all tall and white and elegant…I think about those things a lot. That is…my parents died when I was small, and I was with distant relatives. I recovered my memories in the accident, and it was a great comfort to me-knowing, out there somewhere, there were people waiting for me who loved me and needed me."

"That's nice." Mamoru prayed she would take the hint and go away. He didn't really dislike her, but her presence still gave him the most awful headaches and the way she stared at him was unnerving.

Unable to think of anything to say, or meet his rather cool gaze, Keiko walked around to the other side of the bed and looked down at Usagi's blank, expressionless face. It really did resemble her own. Mamoru reached out and touched Usagi's forehead, where he'd used his powers to conceal her crescent moon mark.

It felt cold.

The idea of her dying frightened him. While they'd had close scrapes, he'd never really thought that someone as alive as Usagi was could die. What would he do if he had to return to living without her companionship?

His mood must have shown on his face. Keiko backed away from the bed, her eyes fixed on her own feet.

"Um…I'll leave…"

He didn't answer. She left as fast as she could, wondering why she didn't feel as elated as she should have after seeing him. Was it because his attention was taken up the unconscious Usagi?

She stopped only in the doorway of the entrance, where she heard faint footsteps. There was no one around, so she chalked it up to her imagination and hurried home, agonizing over her beloved.

Zoicite continued on, poison in hand.

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	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter Five_

Luna and Artemis were trapped in a closet, with bandages over their heads. It was a highly humiliating and dangerous situation. The Sailor Senshi they had been manipulating had managed to get a hold of information that they should never have learned and decided to act without the cat's guidance.

It was unacceptable. They were endangering the future. Crystal Tokyo had to rise.

Luna had long since given up on pulling off her bandaging, but Artemis was still clawing at his head as if he stood a chance. Idly, she nudged his side.

He stopped, sitting down and giving her a look that clearly indicated he wanted to leave. Now. Luna ignored him, thinking as hard as she could about the problem at hand. The door was locked, neither she nor Artemis could call for help, and the bandaging severely dampened their abilities. The closet in question belonged to Makoto, so it was unlikely to be opened without her being ready with a cage or net.

They were effectively trapped until the Senshi opened the door. Thus, they ought to prepare. Perhaps if they hid, they could make a sudden break for it while she looked for them?

Luna pushed her fellow cat into a box and waited with baited breath. Surely Makoto would need something out of her closet soon.

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"I'm sorry." There was real grief in the doctor's voice as he tried to comfort the family before him. The woman buried her face in her hands; the father hugged the shocked son. They all looked worse for wear, exhausted by the grating worry and the constant visits to see their daughter in the hospital. The woman-Ikkuko Tsukino started crying, her shoulders shaking as she sobbed.

"My baby! My little girl! Kenji-" She broke off, unable to articulate her grief.

"I know, Ikkuko, I know."

"Why, Dad?" Shingo asked desperately, his eyes pleading. "Why would this happen-and to Usagi…"

"I'm truly sorry." The doctor repeated. "She was asleep when it happened…there would have been no pain…"

"What went wrong?" Kenji asked. He rubbed his eyes, pushing his glasses up. They fell back down not nose, crooked. There was nothing comical about.

"We checked her IV bag." The doctor took a breath. "A patient in the next ward was being administered a dangerous medication for their condition. Someone must have injected a large amount into Usagi's…the patient in question wasn't due to have another dose for two weeks. We believe it may have been purposeful."

"Purposeful?" Ikkuko repeated. Her face tightened, her lips set in a hard line. "No one would ever want to hurt Usagi!"

"Usagi's been hurt?" Everyone turned to see Mamoru come. He'd meant to stay all day as he had for the last few days, but there had been a youma attack that he had gone to attend to. It had dragged on longer than usual. Usagi would have wanted him to keep helping after all.

Cold fear trickled down his spine. Something bad was happening, he could see it in the Tsukino family's faces.

"She's d-dead." Shingo wailed. "They think someone poisoned her!"

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The tray clattered to the floor, spilling tea and fresh cookies all over the floor. Makoto paid it no mind, staring in mute horror with the rest of the Senshi at Mamoru. He stayed in the doorway, leaning on the frame for support. There was a dull ache in his chest that refused to go away, thumping out the dreaded word again and again. Dead. Dead. Dead.

They'd showed him the body. He'd cried. Then he's steeled himself and touched her with a bare finger, concentrating. He'd followed the feeling, the relevant images, up her arm, up the tube that had delivered the fatal drug, up to the bag…

"Zoicite snuck in and killed her." He said dully.

"No!" There was another thump. Keiko was standing behind Makoto, her handbag open on the floor. "If she dies, the Silver Imperial Crystal will…"

"That's what you're worried about? The crystal?" Rei spat.

"The enemy killed her to get rid of it." Keiko explained. "I know it."

"So she is the real moon princess." Ami said. "Just as we thought…I knew she was a target, we ought to have…"

"We failed." Minako said. Her tone was bleak as she slumped over her knees. Her fists clenched.

"Dammit." Mamoru said. It was his fault. If he hadn't got captured that night by Magdoman…if he'd been able to hold onto his past self as the Senshi had told him for a little longer…if he'd done a better job somewhere, she wouldn't have had to expend her strength in healing him. He had effectively killed the woman he…the one he…

"She…she died peacefully." Keiko offered. Everyone in the room glared fiercely at her; she cringed under Mamoru's glower. He looked as if he would have liked to slap her. It hurt more than she would have imagined it. "You love her, don't you? Not me!"

"Get over yourself, will you?" Mamoru ground his teeth. "Everything is not about your pathetic infatuation with me!"

He turned and walked out of the shrine, taking the stairs at the frightening speed. The Senshi remained where they were, shocked and pained. It seemed they'd become killers after all.

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The moon was her guide.

Its light shone down on her, white and pure; it made her nostalgic. She was thinking of him, and she felt a tug in her chest, an ache that made her certain she was needed.

She wandered down the street, hugging herself as she shivered in the cold, feeling her long, loose hair fluttering in the light breeze. Her legs were unsteady beneath her; her eyes were bright with suppressed pain as she moved gingerly towards her destination.

She needed him, after all, no matter what happened.

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He had no idea what he was doing at school. The idea seemed almost funny; it was too normal. The sun had no right to keep on rising and setting as if Usagi had not left the world. The people laughing in the streets showed no signs of grief. His heart still hurt.

The doctors told him it would distract him. He didn't believe it for a second. Mamoru knew, instinctively, that this breach in him would not heal easily, that he would suffer over her loss for a long time. If he had known that loving her, being with her, would be this bad, he would have walked away that first morning. He would have never met her.

No, that was wrong. He would have wanted to be close to her anyways. She was that kind of girl.

He stood outside the gates, bag in hand, watching the other students go by. They looked at him curiously. Motoki stopped to try and comfort him, but when he saw the look in Mamoru's eyes, empty and painful, he fell silent and just stayed there. There was no excuse for leaving his fiend alone, not now. Not after the tragedy that had just occurred.

Mamoru closed his eyes, the normality of the scene painful. Usagi would have laughed and told him to stop being a jerk; she would have done something so ridiculous and absurd that he would have laughed, too, and they'd have been happy.

Behind him, a slim figure came around the corner. She was wearing a middle school uniform and carrying a bag; she walked slowly and delicately, as if trying to impress someone. Her eyes were fixed on the road. She glanced upward.

She broke into a run, a mad dash, her sole aim in life to reach him.

As if by magic, he chose that moment to look over his shoulder.

There was a flurry of fabric and the thump of the bag being thrown to the side, and then they were kissing, hanging onto each other as if their lives depended on it. Motoki could only gape as he tried to take in what he was seeing.

Usagi was in Mamoru's arms, kissing him passionately. But that was impossible, she'd died yesterday. And yet there was no mistaking the hair, the eyes, the face. The wild thought that it might be Keiko ran through his mind, but he knew Usagi's face too well for that.

Gasping for air, she pulled reluctantly away, keeping her grip on his back.

"Mamoru…Mamo-chan, Mamo-chan, you're alive! You're alive!"

"I'm alive? I'm alive, you stupid…you were declared clinically dead yesterday! I was there! I saw your body!"

"Eh? But I'm right here!" Mamoru closed his eyes again, wondering if it was possible that the coma had caused brain damage.

"You've been unconscious for days." He explained softly, clutching at her as if he was afraid she would disappear. He'd had too many dreams like this only to wake up, alone and awaiting the morning. "The doctors thought you might not wake up. Then someone poisoned you and you died."

"Died?" Usagi stared at him, lips parted. She could barely concentrate on what it was he was actually saying; the sight of him alive and well and furious filled her with joy. Alive, she had succeeded, everything would be alright now. "IS that what that was?"

"Is that what what was?"

"I was in a strange place." She murmured. "Then it went all dark. I was really scared for a while, but you were calling me. So I came." She stroked his cheek with the tips of her fingers, and he caught a brief glimpse of light. While he'd figured out to deal with e power increase being temporarily dead had granted him, it was still strange to get the impression of her feelings. "You were sad."

"It happens when silly little odangos try to bring people back to life." He said. "Don't go away again, eh, Usagi?"

"I'll stay right here with you." She said. "At least, I would if I didn't have to go to school."

"Glad to see my distress means so much to you."

"Mamo-chan…" She sighed. "Mamo-chan, I love you. You know that, right?"

"Of course I do." He smiled, relaxing for the first time in days. "I love you, too, and have you seen your parents yet? Shouldn't you be in the morgue or something?" Now that his heart was satisfied with her presence, his brain went into overdrive in considering all the issues that arose from her not being dead.

"I was in a metal box when I woke up. I went looking for you, but I ended up at home instead. I spent the night there, and when I woke up again, I snuck out to go to school. I left her a note, it's okay!"

"Your school started an hour ago!" he pointed out. "What do you mean, you snuck out?"

"I got lost distracted and lost." She mumbled. "Ah…the bell is going to ring, Mamo-chan…" Reluctantly, she let go of him, and stepped back so that it was possible to discern that they were two people again to observers, of which there were many. Whispers spread throughout the gathered crowd. She made to walk away.

A hand on Usagi's shoulder made her turn around. Her bag dangled in front of her face.

"Don't forget this, Usako." He said. "Be safe."

"I will. You, too." She did walk away then, but both of them kept glancing back over their shoulders, as if they wanted to say something. But they didn't; instead, Usagi went around the corner again and Mamoru passed through the gates and barely made it to class, to his teacher's shock.

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He hurled power at the walls, feeling the rage pumping in his veins. He was furious, although Jadeite had nothing on Kunzite. The white-haired Shitennou was currently unapproachable if you liked your organs where they were. Zoicite's mission had been a perfect success-the girl had died soundlessly in her sleep and been taken to the morgue.

Then she had woken up. Woken up, when Zoicite had given her twice the needed dose! Rather than being free, the prince had collapsed at the news and descended into grief. He had only improved when the moon witch had run right into his arms. They had failed to destroy the crystal, they failed to save Endymion, and they had discovered nothing of value form the experience.

How had the witch survived? Resurrecting Endymion should have drained her to the point of death. She had perhaps used the crystal, but her human body simply did not have the ability to channel that much energy without being destroyed.

"She's a real bitch." Zoicite announced as he entered the room, looking like he'd fallen into a meat grinder. "Dammit, she ought to be dust by now!"

"Well, she isn't." Jadeite said, scowling. "She has Endymion under her thrall, and she has her Silver Imperial Crystal. Well done."

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"She's alive, Ami! She's really okay! Mamoru called and…" Luna pressed against the door, her earlier plan forgotten in favor of eavesdropping. She had heard that Usagi was dead only yesterday and rejoiced; now the girl had sprung back to life and was apparently romancing Endymion off his feet.

The cat was angry. She had carefully studied the text from Crystal Tokyo; there was a woman ruling there with Endymion, but it was not Sailor Moon. It had been confirmed that Sailor Moon had to cease to exist for the city to be founded. Luna had thought that by creating a false princess from a lonely orphan, she and Artemis would be able to ensure the Senshi themselves got rid of her and helped Keiko to found Crystal Tokyo.

Neither of the cats knew who was ruling Crystal Tokyo as queen. They were determined to find out, however, and were already prepared to dispose of their fake princess. The Senshi and Endymion were indispensable, but everyone else could be lost in the battle for paradise.

If Serenity and Endymion were able to complete their awakening, Sailor Moon would be born anew in the world and hope would be lost. All the Senshi together couldn't fight against the Senshi of the Moon, and the Silver Imperial Crystal would never leave her hands.

But there was still time. The Dark Kingdom was obviously after Usagi as well now that they knew she was the princess. Perhaps there was an opportunity there…

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"You two are cute." Makoto commented. "Like my old sempai…" She drifted off into a dreamy silence, seeing something no one else could. Mamoru, Usagi clinging to his arm, entered the apartment where the rest of the Senshi were gathered.

"Glad to see you're okay." Minako said awkwardly. "Um…I'm not really sure how to say this…"

"We want to apologize." Rei knelt down in front of the two. "Thanks to our actions, you were both killed. If it weren't for Usagi's power, you could not have survived. By following a false princess, we caused you a lot of pain. So we want to make it up to you, somehow." The priestess looked up. Her spiritual powers had still not returned; her face was scratched from Phobos and Deimos.

"Your name is Rei Hino, right?" Usagi asked. "You're a shrine maiden."

"Yeah." Rei smiled humorlessly. "And you are the princess."

"Mamo-chan told me." She sat down next to Rei, and laid a hand on the dark-haired girl's arm. "Rei, I want to be angry, but looking at you…I forgive you, okay?"

"You what?" Makoto said blankly. She had not expected that. "Forgive us? We killed you."

"Yes, but you didn't mean to, and if I don't forgive you, then…" Usagi shook her head. "I feel like I know you. I don't want there to be bad feelings between us. We should all be friends!"

"You amaze me." Mamoru said softly. "Are you totally incapable of evil?"

"Holding a grudge makes people miserable. Besides, they're so sad." Usagi protested. "Are you still angry?"

"I'll deal with it." He said tightly. "For you."

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Five girls walked in the park.

A shy girl, book in hand, who kept lifting her novel to read and lowering it as a girl with odangos threatened to snatch it away.

A tall girl, hands behind her head, relating the story of her sempai, and feeling a warmth as the girl with odangos cheered her on while simultaneously bashing the boy for leaving her.

A now-psychic girl, who tried and failed to tame her tongue and ended up in a surprisingly fun battle of wills with her new, odango-headed friend.

A girl with big dreams, who jumped from the latest sale to manga to school without missing a beat and found herself with a companion who could actually follow her train of thought, crazy as it was.

A girl with hair like odangos and a thousand-watt smile, who determinedly extended the hand of friendship to those who needed it.

It was a good day.

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	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

"Well, hello, Usagi." Hiro, otherwise known as 'that jerk who called Usagi fat', walked up to the blonde, who was waiting outside the gates of Mamoru's high school impatiently. She'd promised her mother, who was still recovering from the immense shock of her daughter coming back to life, that she would bring her boyfriend home. To that end, she decided to meet him directly after school to make sure he had no way to escape.

She hadn't counted on Hiro showing up, and judging from her classmate's expression, he had already forgotten the incident at the festival.

"Hi, Hiro." She said, trying to seem normal. "What are you doing here?"

"Nothing, nothing…only, I don't want you to get your heart broken so I came to warn you."

"Warn me?"

"That guy of yours, Mamoru Chiba? He has a girlfriend." Hiro whispered conspiratorially. "I heard that she was this fantastically elegant and thin woman. They were secretly dating for a while, but apparently she was here this morning to see him off. I heard it was…steamy."

Usagi realized that her encounter with Mamoru this morning was probably all over the city by now. She was extremely flattered to hear that she was elegant and thin from Hiro, even if he didn't know that he was talking about her. She giggled to herself in devious delight.

"Oh? Don't worry about me, Hiro. My boyfriend goes to this school, too. I'm sure he can tell me all about Mamoru's mysterious new girlfriend." She winked and turned back towards the gate, waving frantically. "Mamo-chan! Over here!"

"Mamo-chan?" Hiro repeated in a strangled sort of voice. He tried to reconcile the story he'd gotten from Umino with Usagi, jumping up and down with excitement, and failed utterly. He watched as Mamoru came through the gate and allowed Usagi to fling herself around his neck despite the curious looks they were getting.

"Usako, I can't breathe if you do that."

"Right!" She let go and latched onto his arm. "Off we go!"

"Where are we going?"

"Mama said I should bring you over! Dad wants to meet you too. And Shingo doesn't even believe me, the little brat! I'll show him!"

"I don't want to meet your parents!"

"Eh?" Usagi stared up at him, eyes wide and pleading in a way that had never failed her before. "But…Mamo-chan…!"

"You don't remember, but the last time I met your father he looked like he might murder me cheerfully." Mamoru explained.

"Don't be silly, Mamo-chan! Why wouldn't my dad like you?"

"Because the last time we met you were asleep and I had to carry you in?"

"It's not like you're a pervert or something." Usagi said in what she thought was a reasonable voice. She tugged on his arm again. "Please?"

"Fine." Mamoru sighed and let her pull him along in the direction of her house, and his doom. There was no saying no to that face.

Behind them Hiro gaped and then fled to spread the story.

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"Usagi!" Halfway to her house, Usagi was stopped by the cry of her best friend, Naru. The redhead jogged across the street to her friend, observing with interest Mamoru and Usagi's grip on his arm. "New boyfriend?" She joked.

"You bet! Mamo-chan, this is Naru. She's been my best friend since we were really little." Usagi said. "Naru, this is Mamoru Chiba. You remember him?"

"Didn't you say you were going to strangle him with his own shoelaces?" Naru sad skeptically. "You told me you hated this guy." She wondered if the 'boyfriend' thing was just some kind of elaborate hoax or if something had happened between the two.

"Um…things happened?" Usagi offered lamely. She hadn't exactly told Naru that Mamoru was tutoring her and buying her cake and saving her from youma. Nor did Naru know about her dying, as her parents had never had the chance to inform anyone. There was really no explanation for their relationship that could be given out.

"Things happened." Naru repeated, staring at her blonde friend and Mamoru. She scrutinized him carefully-he didn't look like a pervert or anything but you could never tell. "Right. I'm late already, Usagi, so bye! Tell me everything tomorrow!"

"Bye!" Usagi giggled. "We're almost there, Mamo-chan! I'm so excited!"

"You're sadistic." Mamoru saw the house looming up ahead and groaned. "Shall we?"

"It'll be fun, Mamo-chan." Usagi said seriously, and with that ominous statement, she dragged him into the house and proceeded to call for her mother.

"Mama! I brought him home!"

"Usagi!" Ikkuko came into the living room, where her daughter and her daughter's boyfriend were sitting. Mamoru looked like he was trying desperately not to bolt, while Usagi was grinning from ear to ear. The mother decided right then and there that she approved. "So this is the one, hm?"

"This is Mamoru Chiba, Mama."

"I see. How old are you, Mamoru?"

"Eighteen."

"Oh, my, you are old." Ikkuko muttered. She wondered what Kenji would say when he found out-unless-hadn't he mentioned an eighteen-year-old boy with Usagi a while ago? "Will you be staying for dinner?"

"Only if it's convenient for you." Mamoru replied automatically.

"Well, then, it's settled. You can eat with us. I'm sure Kenji is eager to meet with you."

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"I don't like him." Kenji said as soon as Mamoru was out of the house. Usagi scowled, her eyes narrowed.

"But Dad...what's wrong with him?"

"He's too old for you! And he looks shifty! Like he's never eaten outside his house before. Like some kind of delinquent…"

"Dad…" Usagi swallowed, tears springing up at the corners of her eyes. She turned the full force of her sorrow on her unsuspecting father. "Mamoru's awkward because his parents are dead."

There was a silence as both parents stared at Usagi. "Dead?" Ikkuko asked. "Oh, the poor thing."

"Mamoru can't remember anything that happened before he woke in the hospital after the car accident that killed them. He didn't even know his name. So he was really lonely as a kid and I think seeing us as a family made him sad…it's not his fault."

"Oh." Kenji didn't quite know what to say. It did explain Mamoru's nervousness. And it did put him in a better light, if after all that he had managed to maintain good grades and get accepted into college.

"Maybe I should call him…" Usagi sighed. "Good night, Mama, Dad." She went upstairs, leaving her parents to talk in the living room. Her brother was upstairs already, picking up cards off the floor.

"Was that really your boyfriend, Sis?"

"Yes, he is really my boyfriend. Why?"

"Why would someone cool like him date you?"

"Shingo, you brat!"

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Mamoru headed home in the dark. His mind was on the awkward dinner at Usagi's house. Her mother was wonderful, and welcoming, and seemed to approve of him, but Usagi's father Kenji had made it clear that Mamoru was not good enough for Usagi. Whether he was just being overprotective or whether he had a genuine complaint with Mamoru, he didn't know.

The stars shone overhead as he sped up; he did have to get up on time tomorrow after all.

There were a swooping noise from behind him. He turned, stopping on the sidewalk, and waited. There was something behind him, waiting. Slowly, Mamoru turned his head.

Kunzite tackled Mamoru, hitting him like a tank hitting a haystack. They rolled, thrashing, on the ground for a few minutes, and then the Shitennou's leader managed to punch Mamoru squarely in the face. He gathered up the unconscious prince and teleported away.

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Usagi sat up in bed, panting.

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Luna smiled.

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Mamoru woke up to the pain that came form being strapped tightly to a chair. Not only could he not move, but his arms and legs were sore where the straps pressed in. He wasn't blindfolded or gagged, and he could see crumbling stone and torches in the gloom. He could also hear an argument.

"He's the prince. You can't just tie him up." Nephrite argued.

"It's necessary until he understands. The moon witch's spell makes him a danger to himself." Kunzite replied. "Zoicite, have you heard from the Mau?"

"She says that she will arrange for the princess to be at the portal later tonight. I'll personally see to her death this time." Zoicite answered.

"You've had your chance." Kunzite said. "I will do it this time. You three will help the prince."

Zoicite, Nephrite, and Jadeite came through an archway. They saw that Mamoru was awake.

"Prince Endymion." Jadeite bowed, fist pressed to his heart. "Welcome to the Dark Kingdom."

"We will do our sworn duty and rehabilitate you." Nephrite added. Zoicite pulled a heavy book out form under his cape and opened it to the first page. He began to read.

"Once upon a time-"

"Would there be any point in my asking why you think kidnapping me is a good idea?" Mamoru interrupted. "I'm not being brainwashed, or bewitched."

"Of course you wouldn't think so, my liege." Zoicite said. "Once upon a time, there was a kingdom on the moon. Its people were arrogant and proud, and looked down on the noble Terrans below them. Because they were long-lived, they grew weak and feeble, yet they held onto their pride as below, the Terrans grew stronger and fiercer. Fearing foe their reputations, the cowardly moon people sent, rather than a true warrior, a conniving and evil witch who disguised herself as a beauty."

Zoicite's voice had a hypnotic quality, and Mamoru realized that the words must have some magic in them. He bit his lip so hard it bled as he ignored, with great effort, Zoicite's droning.

"Is it working?" Jadeite asked. Nephrite shrugged.

"We'll see."

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"Mamo-chan." Usagi muttered, yanking on clothes at top speed. She rubbed her crescent mark, feeling the power, and made for the door. "Where are you?" She pulled opened the door. Luna sat on the ground in front of her, looking pleased with herself. There were tiny slivers of wood stuck in her fur.

"He's being dragged to the Dark Kingdom as we speak." The cat said.

"Where is he?" Usagi asked. Luan grinned.

"I'll take you there, but on one condition: you must hand over the Silver Imperium Crystal."

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A shadowy figure, hair long and green, leapt form rooftop to rooftop, cursing. How ocudl she have missed Wiseman's first attempt to change the past? Of occurs,e the fool had onle a fraction of her expertise, and his seed of power had latchd onto the cats rather than the princess. That was lucky; their influence was limited, and as she had seen for herself, the path to Crystal Tokyo was still viable.

It was just a matter of smoothing the road, or so she hoped.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The portal pulsed. It swirled with lightning and fire as Usagi eyed it nervously. Luna nipped at her ankle, and she scowled down at the cat.

"It took hours to get the bandages off." Luna snapped. "You fools will destroy the future. Now…give me the crystal, and then you can go off and save him."

Usagi hesitated. On one hand, she tried to keep her word; on the other hand, if her powers came from the crystal, she was probably going to need it to save Mamoru. Besides, Luna hadn't exactly showed herself to be a model of good behavior, what with her trying to arrange for Usagi's death and all.

"Sorry, Luna!" She said quickly. She touched her forehead, feeling power rush through her, and jumped into the portal. She landed in soft grass, under a sky. Usagi looked around and realized she was merely standing behind the portal. It didn't lead anywhere!

A hand seized her arm. Kunzite pressed his sword up against her throat, and she screamed before blasting him. Rescuing Mamoru was going to have to wait; at least until she got herself out of this.

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Zoicite had been talking for hours, or so it seemed. Mamoru's mind was in turmoil; images flashed through his brain, contradicting each other. There was a woman with long red hair, eyes dark, watching him; green gardens, blue skies, a flying horse with a single golden horn. There were men-he guessed that they were the Shitennou-around him, first fighting youma, then fighting him. There was a purple cloud that covered the sky. And there was a flash of silver at the edge of his vision, but that image was never clear enough to be seen.

His head was aching from the onslaught, and he was grateful when Zoicite paused for breath and laid the book down.

"Do you recognize me?" Jadeite asked. Mamoru concentrated as the pain faded.

"You're one of the ones who kidnapped me off the street to brainwash me?" He guessed. Nephrite scowled, and Zoicite slapped the table in rage.

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"Dead Scream!" Usagi paused, bent over as she ducked one of Kunzite's blows, as a burst of light sent him flying. A tall woman in a Senshi uniform, with long green hair and a key-shaped staff, ran forward and hit him in the face with the rounded end of her staff.

"Senshi of Time, Space, and Revolution-Sailor Pluto!" Usagi stared, eyes wide, as the Senshi approached her, hand outstretched. She paused a few feet away and dropped down onto one knee. "Princess, I am pleased to see that you are well."

"Sailor…Pluto?"

"I am the guardian of Time, come from the far-off utopia of Crystal Tokyo. Thanks to the efforts of certain enemies, the past has been altered. You must do exactly as I say, in order to prevent further tragedy. Do you understand, princess?"

"O…Okay."

"You must not go into the Dark Kingdom in search of the prince tonight."

"But-" Pluto shook her head and Usagi shut her mouth.

"You must find Luna and Artemis. They have been possessed by dark forces and must be purified. However, in doing so, your powers will be limited. If you continue to use the Silver Imperium Crystal freely, the strain will kill you: you must limit the power you use until your body adapts to the strain."

"How do I limit my powers? And what about Mamo-chan?"

"He will have to deal with the Shitennou himself. Here." Pluto gave Usagi a brooch, a heart-shaped golden one with a crescent engraved on the front. "You can use this."

Usagi reached out and took the brooch. She felt a rush, as if the brooch had given her power rather than limited it. She opened it, and there was an empty slot. She looked up to ask Pluto what it was for.

The Senshi was gone, and Usagi gulped. What was she going to do now? Pluto hadn't explained how to use the brooch or how Mamoru was going to escape the Shitennou. Although they had seemed more bent on killing her than him, right? That reminded her of Kunzite, who was still lying unconscious nearby.

She pinned the brooch to her shirt, and realized she had no idea where Luna was.

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**Things are coming to a head, aren't they? Next chapter will be the last**.


	7. Chapter 7

_Chapter Seven_

Usagi stood blankly for what felt like hours, absently rubbing the brooch. She had to find Luna or Artemis, she knew, but she had no idea where either of the cats were, and the shock of having the Senshi of Time appear from nowhere, rescue her, and entrust her with a new mission hadn't yet worn off.

After only a few long seconds, however, Usagi concentrated. Luna was missing-she had run off after Kunzite had attacked and she'd been too distracted to watch where the cat was going. But, Usagi reasoned, Artemis might still be in the house where they'd kept Luna.

She rubbed the brooch again, and then realized she still didn't know how to use it. Presumably it limited her powers, but Pluto hadn't shared the details. She took it off and opened it again, examining the slot inside. It looked as if it had been meant for a crystal of some kind.

"The Silver Imperium Crystal!" Usagi exclaimed. The brooch must be to hold the crystal. Which left the problem of getting the Silver Crystal out of her body.

Perhaps Tranquility, who had been under the tutelage of Luna, would know?

* * *

Pluto leapt from rooftop to rooftop, surveying the city. She felt a brief pang of guilt, first at standing by and letting the princess fight alone, and then for lying to the princess about the Crystal. She was of course perfectly capable of using it now, without any strain, but her long-lost Sailor Crystal would never reemerge if she wasn't stripped of the Silver Crystal's protection.

Usagi was not ready to ascend to godhood just yet. She would have to become Serenity the old-fashioned way: through a slow progression of unlocking all her powers as a Sailor Senshi, after which point she would fully pass the Sailor Crystal of the Moon onto Chibiusa, who would take it to the future and take her mother's place as the Senshi of the Moon.

* * *

Tranquility was alone.

As the newly-awakened princess and her Senshi became more and more dangerous to Luna and Artemis, she became less and less useful. She was living in a hotel room, which had been paid through the next week. After that, she supposed, she would have to make her way back-she could hardly imagine it as such-'home'. To whatever life she could make in the real, cold, harsh world, without a past life or a future love to ease the way.

Some part of her hoped that one of the cats would come and restore her hopes; another part of her was resigned to a miserable life.

Someone knocked at the door.

Tranquility-Keiko, she corrected herself-pulled open the door.

Usagi stood there, wringing her hands. "H-Hi."

"Hi." Keiko said. "Where's Luna?" She regretted the words the instant they were out of her mouth.

"I-well, that's what I wanted to know, actually. Have you seen Luna? Or Artemis? Please?" There was something desperate in Usagi's eyes, something nervous in her stance. She had to be in a bad situation if she, Moon Princess and miracle worker Serenity needed Keiko's help.

"No, they don't need me anymore." Keiko said bitterly. "Check their base."

"Base? What base?" Usagi asked eagerly.

"Under that arcade." Keiko snapped. Resentment flared-here was Usagi, the great and wonderful, who was powerful and destined for greatness, while Keiko was alone. Why should she help?

"The arcade…" Usagi breathed. She clutched at the brooch again. "Right! Thank you!"

She turned and hurried off down the hallway, leaving Keiko with the remnants of her dreams.

* * *

Crown was dark, and Usagi found herself glancing about as she lurked outside the door. It was locked, of course, and though it was night, she was afraid of being seen, and arrested or something.

"Maybe…Motoki's left the back door open…" She mused hopefully. She edged around the building, navigating between trash cans, and found the rusty back entrance. She tugged on the door, and miraculously, it opened.

The storeroom she entered was cramped and dark, and she slowly made her way towards the door.

And then stopped as she ducked around a shelf.

There was Artemis, white and lying curled up on his side. He was whimpering, as if in pain, and Usagi instinctively moved to help him before stopping, hesitant. She shook her head in frustration.

"He's only a cat." She told herself, and then Usagi walked over and knelt odwn at his side. "Artemis? Are you okay?"

"I hurt…" He gasped. "You're supposed to be dead…"

"It's okay…it's okay." She murmured. "Can I help you?"

"You need the Crystal. You need…the Silver Imperi…" Artemis drew in a ragged breath. "Luna was wrong, all wrong. Chaos…is…Pluto hurt me. She hurt me…where's Luna? Where's Venus? I'm…her friend…I promised…"

"They're coming soon." Usagi promised, feeling a stab of grief at his pitiful crying and his delusions. "I'll make it stop, okay?"

"Have to use the Crystal." Artemis muttered. His voice was fading, and his eyes were closed now. "Have to say…the magic words…"

He went very still and silent. Usagi gasped and scooped him up. He felt unreasonably cold, considering he had been alive only a few seconds ago.

A tear dripped down her face and into his fur. Then another, and another. Usagi sobbed brokenly. She was holding a dead cat in her arms, who had died painfully and confuse; she had no idea how to save her beloved or do anything; she was all alone.

Her tears kept falling, and now they had a strange light to them. Momentarily distracted, Usagi laid Artemis tenderly in her lap and reached up to touch her wet face.

Her fingertips came away glowing, and the water on them was, impossibly, hardening and growing and shining like a captive star. It fell into her palm and lay there, a little miracle.

The Silver Imperium Crystal. Usagi cupped it in her palms, and then laid it on Artemis's back. The light seemed to seep into him. For a long moment, Usagi couldn't breathe.

The white cat stirred. "Luna?"

Usagi stood up, Artemis still in her arms, the crystal in her fist. "It's okay." She said softly, and she carried him into the main room of the arcade. She laid him down on one of the booth benches, made him comfortable, and then sat down across from him and opened her brooch. She sucked in a breath, and then inserted the crystal. It didn't fit.

But it glowed brighter, and the brooch glowed as well. Her forehead was suddenly burning. Usagi reached up to touch it, and the skin beneath her bangs felt warm.

Something pink appeared in the slot in the brooch, and grew. The pink crystal pulsed, once, twice, and then Usagi felt words coming into her head, felt an instinct, formerly dormant, awaken within her. She pressed the Silver Imperium Crystal to her breast, and it sank into her skin, resting in what seemed to be her heart.

"Moon Crystal Power, Make…Up!"

Artemis opened his eyes halfway and saw a light like the sun. "Princess…" He muttered, and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Luna followed Sailor Moon as she made her way down the street. What she was after, Luna was unsure of. Luna had planned to meet Artemis at the base, but he could wait. Besides, he had expressed some disapproval with her methods, and Luna had no need for any more enemies.

She kept to the shadows as Sailor Moon reached the park, saw that it was deserted, and stopped.

"Luna? Luna, where are you?"

Luna resisted the urge to snarl with irritation, and attacked. As she leapt, claws extended, however, Sailor Moon spun around and held up her hands.

"Wait! Luna! Artemis was asking for you!"

"What?"

"He was attacked." Sailor Moon explained. The Senshi paused, trying to think fo a way t opurify Luna. She didn't have the use of the Silver Crystal anymore, but there had to be some sort of weapon with her Senshi form, right?

Sailor Moon put her hands over her head, and sure enough, a wand formed between her outstretched fingers. She grasped it and brought it straight down, pointing it at a startled Luna, who was still processing the fact that Artemis was actually hurt.

"Moon…Healing…Escalation!"

* * *

The four Senshi were gathered at a convenient rooftop, sleepy eyed but determined. A sudden light had pulsed through them all, transforming them, and they had rushed out to battle without delay. But there didn't seem to be a youma anywhere.

"It has to be Usagi." Sailor Mars said. "She called us here."

"But where's she?" Sailor Jupiter asked. "Mercury?"

"I think I've triangulated her position." Sailor Mercury replied. She typed a few more things onto her handheld computer, and then nodded. "In the park. Let's hurry."

* * *

The youma came out of nowhere. Sailor Moon had been watching over an unconscious Luna, fretting over her healing technique, when at least ten of the monsters- big ones, with tentacles and red eyes and teeth and the ability to spit acid-appeared around her. She barely had time to stand before one of them lunged, and Moon jumped back, cradling the black cat, and summoning the wand with the other hand.

"Moon Healing- Ah!" Moon was knocked down by a flailing tentacle, an acid burn already forming on her leg. "No!"

"Fire Soul!"

"Mercury Aqua Mist!" Sailors Mercury and Mars arrived on the scene, dispatching a youma each.

"Sailor Moon!" Venus grabbed Moon by the arm and hoisted her up. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, but I have to protect Luna, and I still don't know where Mamo-cha- Moon Healing Escalation!- I don't know where Mamo-chan is!"

"We'll find him after we take these creeps out!" Jupiter snapped. "Supreme Thunder!"

The ten youma were down to five as Venus sliced a youma in half with her Crescent Beam. The Senshi formed a circle around Luna's body, and the youma, now evenly matched, were quickly dispatched.

And then Mamoru fell out of the sky. Literally. He hit the ground, eliciting a scream from poor Sailor Moon, and then sat up, dazed.

"Usako?"

"MAMO-CHAN!" She flung herself around his neck, and he slung an arm over her shoulders for a moment before dragging them both to their feet.

"What happened?" He asked.

"I don't know. I thought the Dark Kingdom had you!"

"They did." Mamoru said. "Something happened- some kind of explosion. From inside of me."

"You…exploded." Mercury repeated. "Maybe Sailor Moon's awakening triggered yours?"

"The Shitennou- those four men from the Dark Kingdom- will come after us." Mamoru said. "I know them. Somehow."

He dragged a finger along the dirt. "In a past life…"

"Time for all of that later." Mars said seriously. "Come on. Let's head home and sleep."

"We can always try again in the morning." Sailor Moon agreed, and the six of them began walking.

Tomorrow would come. Someday, they would reach the future they'd been promised.


End file.
